One second I was sitting on the floor of my nursery in my parents' palace. The next second I was sprawled across the floor of the Enchanted Forest. My whole body ached. My legs were throbbing, I had a splitting headache and there was blood running down the side of my face, and my chest felt like a 300 pound man was sitting directly on top of me. There was a moment of static, where I felt like I was being forced into a cell, and then I was being forced out of it just as quickly. It was the strangest feeling. I tried to pull myself up, but my arms were too weak. I tried calling out to her. I yelled, at least as loudly as I could, for Mary Margaret. When I got on all fours I quickly realized that I was entirely alone. Not a single soul was in these woods with me. I wiped the blood from my temple and felt the depth of the cut. Finally, I was able to pull my legs up underneath me and hold myself straight. My bag had been tossed about fifty feet from where I landed. I pulled the strap over my shoulder and brushed the mud off of my pants and hands.

"Hello?!" I yelled. No answer. It started to settle in that they weren't coming for me.

The only thing I knew to do was walk. I didn't know what I was talking to, only what I was walking from. Mary Margaret warned me that the Enchanted Forest is not what it once was. I shouldn't trust anything in these woods. For miles I dragged my body, yelling out for my parents, and hoping someone might finally answer. The sun had set, and I was wandering around in the complete pitch black. My throat was burning, but I had no water to soothe it. That would be my first quest tomorrow. I found a small tree stump, and gathered enough branches to hopefully keep me warm through the night. The shock of being perpetually alone had yet to hit me. There was a small glimmer of hope that they were going to walk around the corner and save me. The only thing I was holding on to were the stories in my book. Pulling it out of my bag, I read the story of my parents over and over again. No matter how many times I read it the ending was always the same. They always lived happily, ever after. As I went to pull my bag up for a pillow, something fell out. It was a small golden locket my mom had given me years ago. I didn't remember putting in my bag before we left, but I unlatched the chain and placed it around my neck. My fingers clutched at it, and I prayed so deeply that this would all be over and I would wake up in my own bed.

When I finally opened my eyes, the next morning, I was discouraged to see the same branches lying across me and I was still inside a tree stump. It was foggier than I have ever seen it before. I stood up, brushed the bristles off of my clothes and looked around. I hadn't the slightest clue as to where I was. The food here was scarce, and so was the water. I was going to have to forage for food. The only thing I've been eating lately was berries, and that diet was quickly catching up with me. On hands and knees, I picked berries off of the closets bushes. The red ones were something to be wary of, and depending on the hue of blue then they could be poisonous or healthy. I was popping a berry into my mouth when I heard rustling of leaves. My instinct was to grab my sword. Rising to my feet I started looking around in every which direction, but I couldn't find the source of all the noise.

"Hey!" A whisper yell came from up the hill. Hiding in the tops of trees far above my head was a boy. I could barely make out his face, other than his finger pointing to my left. I turned my head just in time to see two men rounding the corner on horses. They were galloping towards me. I darted behind trees, hiding under leaves and bushes. I'm not quite sure why I'm hiding, maybe it was the boy's warning, or because Mary Margaret told me not to trust anyone, but I had no doubt that hiding was the only thing I should do.

"The Queen said she would hide in these woods…" One of the horsemen said. I was trying to control my breathing when I saw my bag on the ground in plain eye's view. I panicked and forgot how to breathe. My eyes darted towards the boy in the trees who was watching the men very closely. Trying to remain hidden, but reach for my bag, I kicked a tree which elicited the men's attention. They jumped off and started walking towards it. My heart was literally pounding so hard I could feel it on the outside of my chest. One of them bent down to grab my bag when the boy appeared from the branches and kicked both of them in the faces. They stumbled to the ground in shock, while the boy was smiling as he tossed their unconscious bodies over their horses and slapped the horses' behind to send them galloping off.

He was dirty. His clothes were tattered and looked about five sizes too small for him. His hand reached out to me. This feeling of compassion and kindness flattered me into trusting him. I slipped my hand into his and allowed him to pull me up. We looked around the same age. We were both two young, lost kids in a forest with no way out. The only difference it seemed was he had been trapped in here a lot longer.

"Thanks…" I said genuinely as I reached for my bag.

"Those goons have been on your trail since last night. You're lucky they're just stupid enough to stop every few minutes for food." He was arrogant.

"How do you know they've been following me? Have you been following me?" I watched him quizzically as he walked barefoot around the trees, laughing to himself.

"Rumor around the woods is that there is a Savior here from another world. And then a lost, young girl is walking alone in the woods… If there really is a Savior here, you're going to be an easy victory for them."

"You think the Savior is going to come and save me? That's why you're following me?" I asked, secretly laughing at the irony of the situation.

"I'm counting on it…" He took an apple from his satchel and began juggling it. My eyes couldn't help but follow it in starvation. A small smile curled his lips. "Hungry are you?" The apple lay in the palm of his hand and as I went to reach for it he pulled it back. "Not so fast…"

"What do you want?" I shook my head, but my stomach was aching for something other than berries.

"A friend. We're both looking for something, so why don't we look together?" He raised his eyebrow in a small gesture. I nodded and quickly took the apple from him.

That one bite from the succulent red fruit sent shivers along my spine. Nothing tasted so sweet, or so filling. I must have devoured this entire apple in three bites. We started back on the trail I started on. He watched me with every bite of this apple. Once the incentive was gone, I became wary of my rash decision to let this complete stranger walk with me. He was skipping around with his bare feet. For someone who needs a Savior, he was awfully chipper. Little did he know that the person he was looking for was actually the person he was looking with. It seemed almost evil to tell him that I was the Savior and crush all of his dreams.

"Where are we headed?" He asked, pulling branches off of trees and ripping the leaves off.

"Not sure, really…I'm looking for my parents, but I don't know where they are."

"Did they abandon you?"

"No…I mean, sort of… But not intentionally."

"Unintentional abandonment is the best kind." He said sarcastically.

This companionship was beginning to be a lot more of an annoyance than I thought it would be. He was sarcastic, rude, abrasive, and condescending. The only thing keeping from running in the other directions is that this boy looked like he knew this forest better than anyone. He had been in here long enough to know how to survive, and while that was promising, it also meant he was willing to do whatever it takes to continue to survive. It was a double-edged sword. We walked in silence for most of the way, occasionally breaking for a moment.

The hours of walking we spent were draining, emotionally and physically. I kept telling myself that he would know how to get food and water, and hopefully find us shelter for the night. While I hated him, I also felt extremely connected to him. It was like he had this hold over my emotions, and I don't know why or how, but I couldn't help but trust him. Even when he was telling me all of these made up, ridiculous stories that he couldn't even sell if he tried, I was buying them. There was a very small guard up between us, but I was lowering it with every story and smile he gave me.

"What are you doing here? Where's your family?" I asked him. He stopped smiling and became cold.

"It's just me…Another victim of unintentional abandonment. So, now you know why I would be so eager to share time with someone other than the birds." He allowed himself to be sad for only one moment before he started smiling and began sprinting ahead.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" I yelled after him, but he wasn't stopping. Something told me to run after him. With very little hesitation, I held my bag close by and started chasing after him. It was exhilarating racing through these woods, seeing the green blurs and warm air hitting my face.

We both halted to a stop, with the very tip of our toes dangling over the edge of a waterfall. It was loud, raging and intense. The boy began undressing himself, down to a pair of ragged shorts. The look in his eyes was terrifying. It was an incredible mixture of fear and tenacity.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, knowing well what he was planning on doing.

"Living a little…" He rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and jumped into the rushing water.

I don't think I began to breathe until I saw his head bobbing above water. He was yelling, laughing and cheering from hundreds of feet below. I shook my head in relief, and waved to him from above.

"Come on! Jump!" He shouted.

"No way!" I yelled back to him. He was kicking around in the water, swimming like a fish and loving life. It actually looked kind of fun.

"Just jump! You can't be afraid to take a leap of faith!" He yelled. While I knew he was just tricking me into this, I bought it. Quickly shedding all of my clothes but the tank top and underwear I was wearing, I threw my bag on the ground and took a running jump.

Flying through the air was one moment I will never forget. It was a rush. The air felt crisper, the spraying water felt beautiful, and not thinking how I was going to get home for just one moment was like being able to breathe fresh air. For the first time in over a week, my head was clear. My body slipped into the cold water and shocked every bone I had. The water was freezing but invigorating. As I came up for air, he was staring at me with pride, just waiting for me to relish in this moment with him.

"How'd that feel?" He asked through his yellowing teeth.

"Incredible." I said through gasps of air.

"One problem adults have is they don't realize when to let loose and just be alive!" He splashed me and swam around like a baby in a bathtub. He was right. Up until now, I hadn't let go of every responsibility that was forced onto me and just be a kid.

"I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time." I sipped the water generously and spit it out at his face. We acted like our age, and I'm not even sure I can remember a time when I was ever allowed to do that. We wrestled in the water, climbed up the cliff and jumped a dozen more times. I barely knew who he was, but I never felt closer to someone. We spent merely hours together, and we were more connected then I've been with anyone my age before. August was the only person I considered a friend, which seems like cheating because he was more like a brother. In retrospect, he wasn't sent here to be my friend, but to help me break the curse.

We spent the afternoon jumping the cliff, swimming, catching fish in the stream with our bare hands, and running through the meadow. He taught me how to laugh loud and not feel ashamed to. Instead of hiking trails and navigating a completely foreign world, we ran around playing tag, chasing away birds, cooking fish over a fire and swimming. It felt like a summer's day, but without my mom telling me to "act my age" or "grow up". No stress. We laid our clothes out to dry on some tree branches. While they dried, we laid on the cliff in the direct sun, soaking in the rays and day. It felt nice to actually have a bath, and get off the sap, dirt and mud that have been caked on for a week.

"Tell me something about yourself…" He said. He pulled himself over to his side and looked at me through his brown eyes.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, also perching myself up on my side.

"What's your name? What land are you from?"

"What makes you think I'm from another land?" I ask curiously.

"Your clothes and those shoes…" He pointed at my new boots I just got a few weeks ago from Marc Jacobs. They weren't subtle in comparison to his clothes, which looked handspun.

"It's that obvious, huh? My name's Emma and I'm from Storybrooke, Maine." He grabbed my hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you Emma…I'm Aladdin."

From all of the stories I have read as a child, Aladdin was a poor boy from Agrabah. He was a thief, with a little monkey friend and a magic carpet. He was cute and charming, but burned out on too much bad luck. The storybook character I grew up reading about wasn't too different than the boy in front of me now. For a moment, I lost myself in his eyes. He was enticing, that's for sure. We lay on the cliff swapping stories, talking about our families and homes. I have never felt so compelled to tell a stranger my tale. But I wanted him to know, in fact, I wanted him to know everything about me. I couldn't tell him about who my parents really were, though. That was one piece of information I knew I needed to keep safe for now.

We gathered all of our stuff and headed out before the sun started to set. Aladdin knew a place we could spend the night, it's a bit of an upgrade from your tree stump, he said. Underneath a canopy of trees, no more than a mile from the waterfall, was a tiny little cottage. It couldn't be any bigger than my living room back home. But it was shelter for the time being. He climbed through one of the windows in the back and let me in. As I stood outside waiting for him to unlock the door, a gut-wrenching reminder flooded my happiness. It was reminding me how pathetic this feels: searching for refuge. Once inside Aladdin began building us a fire to cook more fish over. I put my stuff on the table and looked around. Even though it was a one bedroom cottage, whoever lived here before tried shoving seven more beds inside. They weren't typical beds, though, they were hammocks made of bed sheets. It felt familiar, even though it was so strange. It was like I could feel this connection back home, something was tethering me back to another world. My fingers reached for the locket and suddenly I felt a shift in emotions. My tears were drawn back in, and my heart wasn't aching. In that moment, I felt free. Aladdin was standing over my shoulder, breathing on my neck.

"What's that?" He reaches for the locket in my hand.

"Nothing…Just something my mom gave to me." He pulled his hand back and we locked eyes. It may sound really stupid, but for that brief half of a second, I think our souls touched. It felt like he knew my core, like he understood who I really was behind all of this bullshit and lies.

We sat by the fire, sitting cross-legged, and roasting our fish. It wasn't nearly as terrible as I thought it was. In fact, I liked eating something I had caught myself. I actually liked running through the woods and cliff diving. It wasn't so bad when I wasn't completely alone. The day faded so quickly that I barely had time to think about everything I was leaving behind. Our laughter carried on through the night until both of us were so tired we could barely see through the burning tears in our eyes. I settled down in the bed, and Aladdin fell asleep in one of the hammocks across the room.

My body was being jolted back and forth, a shaking that was so hard I couldn't ignore it. When I opened my eyes Aladdin was standing over me with excitement he couldn't control. The sun wasn't even awake yet, it was barley dawn. He threw the one blanket off of my warm body and forced me up.

"Come on! I have something to show you." I put my shoes on, grabbed my bag, and ran after him. I could barely keep up, though. His legs had obviously been running these kinds of distances far longer than mine. We raced through the woods, jumping over logs, running around trees, and skipping over foot deep streams. The incline was drastic and I had to grab onto trees to pull myself up.

"It's not much further. Quick or we'll miss it!" He yelled back to me.

My breath was getting caught in a fog every time I exhaled. It seemed like we were climbing a mountain, my chest could barely take this anymore. But finally, I caught up to him at the top of a very steep hill. He was standing like warrior on the top, with his arms outstretched in victory. I dropped my bag and took in the view. Underneath us seemed like the entire kingdom. We were the only ones here. It was the most breathtaking view I had ever seen in my life. Just beyond the ocean was the sun poking out. Its rays hadn't even touched the land yet. I sat down beside him, and we watched in silence as the sun blessed this day. Mary Margaret was right, this land was beautiful. Even if it had been damaged and ruined, it still had its purity and essential beauty.

"This is incredible." I said in awe. "How do you know about this place?"

"When I first came to this land, my brother and I would climb this mountain every morning and share a loaf of bread. Since he's been gone, I continued to climb this mountain every morning and split a loaf of bread. Eventually, it just became too great of a trek to go alone. But it's not nearly as long with company." His smile warmed my very cold body.

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small loaf of bread, and then split it into two. When he handed it to me I realized how sentimental this notion was. His handing me the piece of bread he would have split with his brother made me feel protected. This boy wasn't a runaway. He wasn't a thief or a menace. Aladdin was a gentle, kind, and giving boy who only wants to be loved. It's not hard to love someone who is so willing to give so much of himself to a complete stranger. We watched the sun continue to rise as we ate our very small portions. There was one last thing he wanted to show me. Taking my hand, he led us down a rocky path along the mountain. His hands were nearly black in dirt. No amount of water could get it off. Mine looked white in comparison to his.

There wasn't a moment of silence on our trek. We talked about the smallest things. He asked me questions about my land and I asked him questions about his land. I asked him silly questions like why the sky was blue, and he would tell me it was because there was a battle of the mermaids and Triton stained the water with his fin. He asked me about my favorite foods and cringed at the details of Loaded Waffle Fries. Being together was easy. It was easy to talk about meaningless things. It was fun to laugh with someone who didn't care about my family lineage or the fact that I was the Savior. Finally, we came upon a footbridge. Just over the bridge was a small village. It appeared desolate and empty.

"There it is…" He pointed.

"What is it?" I shifted the weight of the bag on my shoulder.

"It's the only place that survived after the curse…" He started over the bridge, and I reluctantly followed.

No one told me about the process of choosing who was cursed and who wasn't. There might be people in this village who know of me, or of my family. There might be people I shouldn't see. But I swallowed my fears and followed my guide. He was skipping in anxiousness. It wasn't a town of life, but it appeared that there was activity in a sense. Some people were gathered around fires in metal bins. Others were walking in shops and chatting on the sidewalk. It wasn't a town of prosperity, but rather of survival. Aladdin started running behind huts and cottages, and small buildings. I tried keeping up but I quickly got lost. He was too fast for me. A quiet whistle alerted me to the rooftops. There he was, standing on top of a roof. This boy was exciting, quick, adventurous and spontaneous. It was all just such a rush. He reached down for my hand and I jumped up to meet it. Soon we were both jumping from roof to roof along the village. There weren't enough people for someone to notice us.

"What are we doing?" I whispered to him. He knelt down and lowered his body. I followed suit.

"Just trust me, Emma." He answered.

We ended up inside someone's empty house. He started rifling through the drawers and cabinets, searching under every piece of furniture. Looking at the walls, and the curtains that didn't have a speck of dust on them, and then it hit me: someone still lived here. He was filling up a bag full of food, silver and meaningless belongs like a bowl and a spoon. This wasn't right. I couldn't steal from people who have already lost so much.

"What are you doing?! We can't steal from these people!" I said to him as I stood watch by the door.

"Grab that bag." He pointed to the second bag of food he had packed. When voices sounded closer I grabbed the bag without putting thought into it and followed him. We sprinted along the rooftops and behind the buildings until we were finally over the bridge. I tried to regain my breath, but he was dragging me through woods and trees. He slowed down as we reached waterfront. And he began pouring the contents from his bag onto the sand and yelled in utter happiness and joy.

"Look at all of this food! We'll be set for weeks!" He started sifting through all of his stolen goods.

"Do you feel better about yourself? Now that you have successfully stolen someone else's food and belongings?" I shouted at him. He was alarmed by the tone in my voice.

"Calm down." He shouted back at me. "I didn't steal anything. That used to be my family's house." He took a deep breath and stood in front of me. "My family was separated during the wars in Agrabah. My mother took me and my brother to this land. We lived in that house, and until a few months ago, we still did. My mother and brother went missing, and I have spent every waking moment searching for them. But people in that village think my mother-" He swallowed back his tears and rage, "they think she was a gypsy and that she sold my brother for money." Tears were threatening his eyes, and his voice was full of despair. "But I know she would never do that. I know that something happened to them. But I have not been welcomed there in quite some time, so a family friend fills the cabinets with food. Sometimes they'll put clothes in the bedroom for me."

For some reason, unbeknownst to myself, I believed him. Even though the story sounded far-fetched and like a fable, I couldn't help but trust his words and tears for what they were worth. My hand slowly reached for his. My fingers tried to brush away his tears. But eventually he buried his face into my shoulder and tried to compose himself.

"That's why you're looking for the Savior. You think he'll be able to help you find your family?" It felt terrible continuing to lie to him after he had just told me such a guarded secret. There was still no chance I could trust him enough. Not yet.

"Yes…I just need his help to get me to Agrabah. If he could get me there, then I know I could find them." He picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. My feet kicked some of the rocks, fighting with myself between telling him who I really was and continuing this lie.

"I'll help you find Agrabah. We can do it together." He turned around at my offer and with a small chuckle a small smile spread across his face.

"Thanks, but it's not as easy as it sounds. I've been trying far too long. It's a very long ways from here and without the right compass it's nearly invisible."

"I'm a little more resourceful than you think. I can help you. We will find your family." I reassured him by placing my hand on his shoulder. "Tonight we will head out."

"Oh yeah? Do you even know which direction to head?"

"Of course I do. Follow the North star." He seemed surprised.

"You do know how to navigate."

"I think your problem has been you've been using the wrong compass. I've been taught the only compass truly trustworthy is that of the stars."

We gathered our bags and food, threw them over our shoulders, and headed back to the small cottage to prepare for our journey. We emptied out the needless junk, tied the sheets and a blanket together and threw them in another pack. This whole ordeal transpired from finding my own family, and into finding his. There was no guilt attached to it either. I had no qualms about putting his needs before mine. I knew very well that I was going to find my family eventually, so I needed to do the noble thing and help a friend find their happiness. As Aladdin sought water to burn out the fire we had set, I sat on the bed with my hand on the locket around my neck and thinking about what my life was going to be like outside the Enchanted Forest. For the first time, I pressed the button on the side and opened the heart. A small picture of Mom and I was still placed on the right. As I gave it one lasting look, it began to filter out through static and in place of this picture were Mary Margaret and David. They were screaming my name.

"Mary Margaret? David?!" I said softly. This couldn't be real. This had to be my mind tricking me.

"Emma!" They both said excitedly.