This chapter is another back and forth, but not as much as the last one. I'm trying to move this story along to the point where Emma is back with her family but there has to be some exposition before that so bear with me. It will get better soon! Explanations are at the bottom because I don't want to confuse you guys.
Note: This Daniel is no reference to Regina's. Just liked the name - plus I'm picturing a younger version of Daniel from Revenge because he's hot.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll try to clarify as much as I can at the end but this is a world in my head - I created a lot for this fix, so there are some things I see that you don't.
As always enjoy and Review!
"Em concentrate." Serafine said patiently. "You can do this."
"Serafine it's too hard." Emma shook her head. "I can't do this."
"You can Em. "Serafine sighed. "You just need to put a little more effort into it. You're not trying hard enough."
"I am." Emma insisted. "I don't get why you want me to do this. You're not pushing anyone else in my year to do this."
"Because you are far more powerful than anyone else here Em." Serafine said. "I'm pushing you to do this because I know you can. Because I know you are powerful enough to handle this."
"Fine." Emma threw up her hands and turned around to face the pool of water again. She shook her shoulders and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She envisioned the water rising up into the air and surrounding her. She felt the water become part of her and slowly imagined her power radiating out from her and pulsing through the water.
She opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of a vortex of water. A laugh erupted from her and she couldn't contain the smile that spread on her face. "I did it." She turned to see Serafine smiling in approval.
"Very good." Serafine nodded. "Now can you put it back?"
"I think so." Emma nodded. She took a deep breath and willed the water back into the pool. The water did as Emma told it and gently went back to its resting place.
"Very good Em." Serafine clapped. "You amaze me every day with your abilities."
"Well I wouldn't have been able to do any of that without your guidance." Emma said.
"I can help you cultivate your talent Em, but I can't give you the power contained within you." Serafine pointed to Emma. "You're a once in a lifetime talent Em. With the amount magic you have, it's a miracle you survived its manifestation."
"I have you to thank for that." Emma said quietly which was out of character for her exuberant and confident personality. "You took away that pain. I'm so thankful you found me that night. If you didn't, who knows what would have become of me. You took me in when no one would."
Serafine felt a twinge of guilt at Emma's comment knowing full well she had a loving family waiting for her back home. "You make me proud every day Em."
"Can we have the day off like you promised?" Emma looked hopeful.
Serafine laughed. As mature and powerful as Emma was sometimes Serafine forgot she was still a teenager. "Of course you can."
"All of us?" Emma lit up. "We can realm travel? Finally?"
"I think you've proven yourselves worthy." Serafine nodded. "Although I know you've realm traveled before."
"You do?" Emma's face fell.
"Yes." Serafine nodded. "You've been doing it for years. It's actually quite impressive."
"Thank you Serafine." Emma ran off to tell her friends.
Serafine shook her head and smiled. She was happy after everything that had happened, despite the immense pressure Emma was under; she could still be a kid.
"We're free." Emma gleefully bounded back into the cabin she shared with her friends.
"What are you talking about Em?" Cat flipped down from her bunk, looking at her friend quizzically.
"Serafine." Emma exclaimed. "She's said we can have day off. That we can realm travel!"
"Wait we're going to do that with permission for once?" Luke walked into the room.
"Yes!" Emma smiled. "She approved it. Let's go!"
"What's going on?" Daniel walked through the door with Lucy and Diana.
"Madame Serafine gave Em permission for us all to take the day off and realm travel." Cat said excitedly.
"No way Em that's awesome." Daniel hugged Emma.
"What did you do to get her to agree to that?" Diana asked.
"Successfully manipulated a pool of water in to a vortex the surrounded but didn't touch me." Emma said nonchalantly.
"Damn." Lucy shook her head. "You are so insanely talented."
"That's why she's Madame's favorite." Cat rolled her eyes teasingly.
"I am not." Emma crossed her arms.
"Oh come off it Em." Diana looked at her friend. "You've been her favorite since the day you got here. And since Daniel and I actually got here before you we can vouch for that."
"Whatever do you want to go or not?" Emma looked at her friends.
"What are we waiting for?" Cat grabbed her bag. "Let's go."
"Where to first?" Lucy asked.
"I've got a place in mind." Emma said as they all held hands.
"Why do you get to pick first?" Diana asked.
"Because she's the one who got us permission to do this without having to sneak around." Luke pointed out. "Just grab her hand and let's go."
Emma darted along the pathway, laughing as Daniel chased after her. She finally collapsed onto a soft bed of grass smiling up at the sky. "Oh I love Wonderland so much."
"Why?" Daniel laughed. "It's so creepy here."
"Because." Emma held a giant orange flower so it just touched her face. "They have comically large flowers whose size is disproportionate to the rest of the world and when you give them to me it makes me laugh."
"I think you like it here because it effectively makes you high." Daniel smiled at Emma.
"It's a break from our world." Emma sighed dramatically. "Rules, rules, rules, rules, rules. That's all there ever is. Don't get me wrong I love Madame Serafine but it's always about structure, another drill, another practice. 'Push yourself Em. You're stronger than this. You can do better.' I cherish any bit of freedom I get. She's been challenging me more and more lately. Do you know last week she made me dive into a whirlpool? She's trying to kill me."
"She's not trying to kill you." Daniel moved the flower out of Emma's face. "She just knows you're the most powerful one of us and she want's you to reach your full potential."
"You sound like Juliana." Emma rolled her eyes, referencing the woman responsible for the wellbeing of the teenagers in their community in Altair, their homeland.
"Well Juliana is just looking out for our best interests." Daniel said. "So I could be compared to worse."
"I don't think so." Emma shook her head in over exaggerated motions.
"Ok, come on." Daniel stood up and held his hand out to Emma. "Clearly Wonderland is having a much stronger affect on you than usual. Let's go find the others and let someone else pick a realm.
"Fine." Emma huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. "I don't see why we can't stay."
"Because if Madame Serafine finds out we got you high she'll kill us all, including you." Daniel explained. "Well maybe she won't kill you, but she'll push you to near death."
"Oh honestly Daniel." Emma rolled her eyes. "You are such a drama queen."
"I see Em's enjoying her trip to Wonderland." Cat smiled as she watched the two approach.
"Yes she is." Daniel nodded as he joined hands with his friends. "We need to get out of here before she's pulled to deep." He nodded to Diana to take Emma's hand.
"Where to now?" Lucy asked.
"I think I have an idea." Cat said as they all closed their eyes. She pictured the realm and felt a gush of wind and power as they were transported there.
They landed with a thud on the ground. Emma surprisingly had somehow managed to stay upright. She looked around shaking her head. "What happened?"
"Feeling better I see." Daniel smiled.
"I chose Wonderland didn't I?" Emma closed her eyes in embarrassment and then opened one, peeking at the group.
"Yea." Diana tried to stifle a laugh. "And oh did you enjoy it."
"Super." Emma shook her head. She looked around the forest. "Who thought to come here?"
"Me." Cat raised her hand.
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Because you love it here so much. It's beautiful and magical with this endless forest and those majestic mountains. It's called the Enchanted Forest for a reason." Cat shrugged. "The first time we came you said you felt like you recognized it, that it felt like home. Plus we've got our hideaway here so we can hang out as long as we want. We're also well provisioned with weapons if we want to hunt. Madame would love it if we brought back food."
"Suck up." Luke teased.
"Am not." Cat crossed her arms defensively.
"I know." Diana spoke up. "Let's play the game."
"We haven't done that in a while." Lucy's eyes shone with excitement. "How about it everyone?"
"Definitely." Luke nodded. "I'll be on a team with Cat and lil' red." He nudged Lucy affectionately. "Daniel, you're with Di and Em."
"This isn't even going to be a fair fight." Daniel draped his arms around Emma and Diana. "We're going to kill you."
"We'll see." Cat held up their token. "You know the rules. See you guys soon. May the best team win."
"We will." Diana called after her three friends who darted off. She turned to Daniel and Emma. "We're going to smoke them. We have Em, the best tracker in the Altair."
"Cat can be pretty devious." Emma pointed out. "Plus she knows me pretty well and my head still feels pretty fuzzy from that whole Wonderland experience. Why did you let me inhale that flower anyway?"
"You were having fun." Daniel held his hands up. "Besides I thought you could use the break from all the stress Madame puts on you."
"You let her inhale the flowers?" Diana turned around, shocked. "What is in your skull?"
"Stop fighting you two." Emma shook her head. "God you would think you two were related."
"We are." Diana pointed out. "Unfortunately. Come on, let's go before we lose."
"With you on our team." Daniel smiled at Emma. "We have nothing to worry about."
Red wandered the enchanted forest aimlessly. The soldiers behind her were getting restless. They all wanted to go home. In the years since Emma's disappearance a darkness had fallen over the kingdom. There was an emptiness in all of them. The young princess was a ray of light and happiness that had been ripped from all of their lives.
The daily search parties had become weekly; weekly had become monthly. Among the lower ranks this detail was considered punishment. The soldiers took it as a joke. They all knew it was useless, but the search was mandatory. But Lancelot or Red always led the searches. Emma's godparents knew how much Emma meant to their friends, her family; how much Emma meant to them. They took the searches very seriously, no matter how much of a fool's errand they were. Emma wasn't coming back, that much was clear.
Red thought back, remembering her time with the spunky little girl. Her memories of Emma running around the palace gardens, laughing as Red chased her. How her imagination would create the most fantastic stories. The way her infectious smile would light up a room or how one hug could cure any bad mood. Emma's scent popped up in Red's memory, the smell of strawberries and pine. Red hadn't smelled that in a very long time. It only made her think of how much she missed the little girl more.
Suddenly Red stopped. She hadn't smelled that scent in ten years, but it was definitely real now. She shook her head, making sure it wasn't a hallucination. She inhaled again, it wasn't.
Red darted off suddenly, much to the surprise of the guard. She followed her nose, as the scent grew stronger. There was laughing up in the trees ahead. She caught sight of a shock of long brown hair followed by a flash of blonde. There were three of them, a boy and two girls.
Red followed them closely. They were moving quickly. She watched their movements intently. They were children, but she was surprised to see they were tracking with expert movements.
Red attempted to get a better angle on them, but they were too good, too fast to be fully seen. But no matter how good they were, they were still just kids and they were no match for Red. She zeroed in on the blonde who, despite the fact she was obviously calling the shots, was behind hindered by something. She could see it in the way she shook her head as if trying to cast off something off. She was slightly slower than the others, putting her at the back of the pack, making her the easiest target.
"Di, Daniel." The blonde one called, her voice sounded hauntingly familiar. "Take point, I'll take the side."
Red was surprised by the order. Separating from the group was dangerous. The girl clearly didn't fear danger and thought she was skilled enough to handle it. It was either foolish or confident. Red was about to find out.
She waited until the blonde was out of sight of her friends and made her move. She quickly gained ground on the girl and reached out, grabbing her arm. The blonde stopped suddenly. "Seriously Cat?" She turned around; a flash of blonde curls revealing a face that had haunted Red for ten years. Red could see shock in the girl's eyes, surprise and a hint of fear.
It was all Red could do to keep her mouth from dropping open. The face, the blonde hair, the green eyes, they all matched Snow and James exactly. It had been ten years, but she knew her goddaughter when she saw her.
"Who are you?" The girl breathed.
"Emma?" Red managed.
"Emma?" The girl's eyebrows shot up. "Why would you call me Emma?"
"It's your name." Red said slowly.
"No it's not." The girl shook her head. "But it's similar. My name is Emily. Always has been. But everyone calls me Em."
"Emily." Red repeated, confused.
"Now answer me." Emma's face hardened as she ripped her arm from Red's grasp. "Who are you?"
"It's me, Emma." Red said. "It's your Aunt Red."
"Aunt Red?" Emma repeated. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry but you must have the wrong person. I've never met you before."
"Em!" The boy called, jumping protectively in front of Emma. "Are you ok?"
"Yea I'm fine Daniel." Emma nodded, looking curiously at Red.
"I told you we shouldn't have come here." The gorgeous brunette swung down from a tree. "How could we be so careless? We should have known what today was."
"It was Cat's choice Diana." Daniel snapped. "She doesn't know. That's our job."
"What are you guys talking about?" Emma asked.
"We'll tell you later." Diana waved her friend off.
"No, now!" Emma demanded.
"Em." Diana whipped around, facing her friend. "You're going to kill us and Madame when we tell you so please can we just not do this right now. You know this is not the best place to be what we are and no matter how strong you are your emotions still get the best of you, just like rest of us. So please, for the sake of this entire forest, not now."
"Fine." Emma crossed her arms. "But I'm going to kill you later."
"That's what I was afraid of." Diana looked a little scared.
"Who are you?" Red asked authoritatively.
"That's none of your business." Diana replied sharply. "We're sorry for being in your forest, but we're doing nothing wrong. We're just amusing ourselves. Our parents live in the village over the ridge. We're just out enjoying a day off from the fields."
"I'm not stupid." Red crossed her arms. "That excuse may have flown had you not just went off on your friend a second ago."
"Nice going Diana." Daniel hissed.
"I'm sorry." Diana didn't sound sorry at all.
"Maybe if you weren't such a hot head." Emma pointed out.
"Shut up." Diana snapped.
"Are you going to tell me who you really are now?" Red asked.
"I think you know what we are." Daniel stepped closer to Red, putting more distance between her and Emma.
"And I don't think you want to mess with us." There was a threatening tone to Diana's voice. "We don't want to cause you any harm. Just let us go on our way and we won't have any problems."
"See that would be ok." Red shrugged. "But you two aren't what I'm interested in and I think you know that."
"What do you want?" Daniel asked despite the fact he knew the answer.
"Her." Red pointed at Emma. Emma's eyes grew wide and she took a step back.
"Em, run. Now." Daniel said slowly.
"What?" Emma asked.
"Diana, go." Daniel ordered.
"Come on." Diana grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her away. Emma hesitated, looking over her shoulder on last time at Red before shaking her head and bolting off.
"Wait." Red tried to follow but Daniel was too quick, blocking Red's way.
"You don't want to fight me little boy." Red growled.
"No you don't want to fight me." Daniel took a defensive stance. "We've been trained, all of us. I can take you in hand to hand, and if not, well I have a trump card that I don't really want to use. Despite your tainted image of us, we are not all soulless creatures."
"If you don't want to fight, why are you still here." Red asked.
"To talk to you." Daniel relaxed his stance.
"Why?" Red didn't back down.
"Because I know who you are." Daniel knew his comment would have the desired effect.
"What?" Red was clearly taken aback.
"Diana and I both do." Daniel nodded behind him referencing the girl who had disappeared. "We're the only ones other than those higher up in the ranks. We're supposed to protect her. We were foolish to bring her here today. One of our friends chose this place, we weren't thinking."
"You know I patrol these woods?" Red asked.
"We know everything." Daniel shrugged.
"Really?" Red raised her eyebrows. "Everything? If you know everything, why are you protecting her from the people that love her?"
"Love her?" Daniel laughed. "You mean the people who cast her out because of what she is?"
"Is that what you've been told?" Red asked. "Is that what she told you?"
"Em doesn't know anything." Daniel explained. "She doesn't remember anything before she came to us. She doesn't remember you."
"How is that possible?" Red's shoulders slumped.
"She wanted to forget, so she made herself." Daniel shrugged. "She wanted to avoid pain. All she knows is she was found in the woods, wandering alone. She doesn't know that they were these woods. No one wanted to upset her."
"Why?" Red asked.
"Because Em is important." Daniel explained. "She's special."
"I know that." Red crossed her arms. "I've known her from the day she was born. I love her. I know how special she is."
"You don't know her." Daniel shook his head. "None of you do. She's happy with us. You saw that. She's not being held prisoner. You should take this as good sign. You no longer have to search for her. She's safe, she's free, and she's made the choice to stay with us. We're going to go now. I suggest you do the same."
"Wait." Red called.
"What?" Daniel didn't look happy.
"Where?" Red asked. "Where has she been all this time?"
"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you since you can't get there." Daniel said after sizing up Red. "It's not in this realm. It's in a realm that's is only inhabited by those with magical abilities. It's a safe haven for us from places such as this where we are persecuted. It's called Altair. Emma's safe there. That should give you some solace. Now I'm going to leave, and if you want what's best for her, you won't follow me." With that Daniel disappeared into the trees leaving Red open mouthed.
She couldn't believe what had just happened. She had just found Emma. That face, she could never forget it. There was definitely that same six-year-old girl somewhere in there, but she had changed so much. In fact she was almost unrecognizable. She was cold, distant. Red knew one thing. Emma wasn't coming home. Ever. She didn't know how she was going to tell Snow and James. Their little girl was alive and free, but she was choosing to be away from them.
"Em, slow down." Diana chased after her friend. "This is crazy."
"I want to find out what that was about." Emma called behind her.
"Em this is a bad idea." Diana warned.
"Well you should have thought of that before you lied to me." Emma snapped. "It's a little late to play the clueless card. This is your punishment."
"I know." Diana grumbled.
Emma stopped at the edge of the forest. She could see the woman who had called herself Red leading a group of soldiers on horseback over a bridge to a castle. "That place." Emma whispered. "It's beautiful."
"Yea." Diana agreed as she caught up with her friend. "Now can we please go?"
"It looks so familiar." Emma seemed far away.
"Em please don't do this." Diana begged.
"We're going." Emma said adamantly.
"Em it's a freaking castle, on an island, in a lake." Diana said. "How the hell are we going to get in there?"
"Oh come on Di." Emma pulled rope out of her bag and tossed it to her friend. "We're the best trackers in the Altair. We have magic. We can get in one little castle."
"It's not that little." Diana groaned, knowing she was going to pay for this later. "There's no stopping you?"
"Nope." Emma shook her head.
"I thought not." Diana muttered as she followed her friend down the mountain.
Red hesitated before entering the library. She never enjoyed having to tell her best friends that she hadn't found their daughter, again. But this time it was different. This time she had to lie to them. This time she had to tell them there was no trace of their daughter even though she knew it wasn't true. But it was better than the truth, the truth that their daughter didn't want to come home.
Red took a deep breath and walked into the library. Snow looked up. It pained Red to see the small spark of hope in her friends' eyes after all this time. She hated having to crush it. She shook her head slightly. Her heart constricted as she watched Snow's face fall, her shoulders slump. She looked defeated, like she had nothing left in her. James pulled his wife into his arms, trying to comfort her. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't conceal the look of loss on his own face.
"Where did you look?" James asked after a moment.
"The northern border." Red explained. "Up towards the city of Drell."
"Drell?" Snow looked up, surprised. "I didn't realize that was on the route for today."
"It wasn't." Red shrugged. "I decided to change it up a bit."
"Why?" James asked.
"I don't know." Red shrugged, searching for an answer. "My nose get's the best of my sometimes and I make stupid decisions." James looked at Red skeptically before finally shrugging and sitting down. "How are the talks with the other kingdoms going?"
"They're going as best as can be expected." James shrugged. "I would be lying if I said we weren't having problems with Thrain. They say they have no… well they say we are a lot less attractive now that what we have to offer them is diminished.
"That's sick." Red shook her head. "I can't believe Angharad would say that, especially when he knows the pain you to are going through. And to refer to her as an offer, a bargaining chip?"
"It's disgusting." Snow crossed her arms.
"He wanted Emma to be Orrin's bride." James said solemnly. "With Rhys on the throne of Thrain and Orrin married to Emma, it would make their kingdom that much more dominant."
"Is that all Angharad desire's? Power?" Red shook her head in disgust.
"Sadly that's what drives some individuals." Snow said with disdain. "When my father's kingdom dissolved look how much of it he claimed for himself in the chaos. Thrain is the largest kingdom in the land."
"Which exactly why we need Thrain on our side when it comes to her." James said grimly. "If she gets them. It'll be almost impossible to survive. He's just looking for the best offer."
"Still you would think he would have a soul." Red said with disgust.
"The people of Thrain aren't known for their compassion." James shook his head. "I fear time is running out for us."
"They look so sad." Emma whispered watching the unknown couple closely. The woman was beautiful with long curly raven hair. Her complexion was pale but she was strikingly beautiful. The man he was extraordinarily handsome. His golden hair was the same color as hers.
"Yea they do." Diana looked around nervously for anyone who could catch them. She thought about the irony of the situation, Emma sneaking into her own home. That gave Diana some solace. At least if they got caught they wouldn't be tossed into the dungeon. They probably wouldn't be set free either. Well Diana would be free to go, if she was lucky. Emma however, well they wouldn't let her leave so easily. Diana worried what would become of them. She knew this kingdom wasn't friendly to those who had magic.
"I wonder why?" Emma said softly. "I can't hear what they're saying."
"We'll we can't get any closer without getting caught." Diana pointed out. "Don't get any crazy ideas."
"I can make myself invisible." Emma pointed out.
"That skill is no where near mastered." Diana rolled her eyes. "You try that and I kill you."
"Fine." Emma huffed. "It doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't make sense?" Diana asked.
"Well Serafine has always taught us not to get attached. Compassion is necessary at points but it can be a weakness." Emma turned to look at the couple. "I have no clue who they are. I've never met them in my life, never talked to them, but I feel for them right now. Like I wish I could take their pain away."
"Em." Diana warned. "Don't get attached."
"I know, I know." Emma rolled her eyes. "Look."
"What?" Diana followed Em's finger.
"The woman, she's leaving." Emma said.
"Shit and she's coming this way." Diana grabbed Emma's hand. "Time to go."
"But." Emma protested.
"Do you want me to tell Serafine?" Diana threatened.
"You wouldn't." Emma's eyes narrowed.
"At this point, this is completely insane. I would do it for your own good. So come on or I call her." Diana warned.
"You are evil." Emma cast one last glance back at the man. She couldn't understand why she felt such an attachment to him.
"Ok." James turned to face Red. "She's gone. Now why don't you tell me what really happened this afternoon."
"What do you mean?" Red pretended now to know anything.
"I know you're lying." James crossed his arms. "I've watched you walk through that door many times to tell me you had found no trace of her. This time it was different. You were nervous, apprehensive. Tell me what happened Red."
"I don't think you're going to like hearing it James." Red warned. "Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone."
"Well enough?" James's voice had a slight anger to it. "How is living every day without my daughter for ten years well enough?"
"James." Red tried to calm her friend as he paced away from her.
"No." James turned to Red. "If you know something about my little girl you have to tell me. Anything at all, I don't care what the news is. I just want to know. I just want some peace."
"This won't give you any peace." Red said quietly.
"What is it then?" James looked at Red hopelessly. "I know you know something. If you don't tell me, I'll lie awake at night thinking about it all the time."
Red took a deep breath and stared at the ground, trying to find the right words. Finally she realized there were no right words. She glanced up at Red. "I saw her today."
"You what?" James's mouth dropped open.
"I saw her." Red wore a sad smile. "She was out near the northern border with her friends. They were playing some game in the forest, they were tracking with incredible precision, I could tell. She was beautiful James. I couldn't have imagined anyone more gorgeous. She's you, and Snow. It was like looking at a ghost. But she's a different person. She's a stranger."
James covered his mouth and walked slowly to the couch, sitting down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked up at Red, waiting for her to continue.
"Somewhere deep down in those eyes, I saw the little girl we all loved. But I also saw someone different. I saw someone who's been hardened by her life. She's strong and powerful, but she's lost to us. I don't think she has any memory of her life here or you and Snow. She's chosen to live a different life, away from here."
"How can this be?" James finally managed to speak.
"I don't know." Red sat down next to James on the couch. "From what I can gather, they've been living in another realm. There's a group of them, she's not on her own. The two I saw her with, they possesses magic too. I could see it. There must be a community of them from what I understood. The land, I hadn't heard of it before, but the boy called a land where those who possessed magic could live without fear of persecution."
"We would never persecute out own daughter." James said indignantly.
"You have to admit this land isn't exactly known for it's favor towards magic." Red said gently."
"With good reason." James raised his voice. "Look at all it's taken from us, what it's done to our kingdom, to my family."
"I know." Red said kindly.
James looked at the ground, trying to calm himself. When he looked back up, he seemed broken, weak, and sad. "Are they keeping her?"
Red shook her head. "I don't think so. James she seemed happy, uninhibited. She wasn't alone. The two she was with, I could tell they cared about each other. " Red looked at her hands before looking back up. "James… She's not coming back."
James covered his mouth again, choking back a sob. Red pulled her friend into a hug. It was a rare moment when James broke down, but Red knew this news would do this to him. "I'm so sorry." Red whispered.
So notes: Emma does not remember who she is. This is why she thinks her name is different. I'll explain the motivations behind that later. I kept her name as Emma in everything outside the commentary to clear up confusion.
Altair is another realm where only magical beings live. This is where the safe haven Serafine took Emma to is. It's a pretty spectacular place in my mind.
Thrain is another kingdom in the realm of the Enchanted Forest. I've drawn out a map of what this realm looks like in my head and I'll try to attach it if I can figure out how to.
Any other questions - just ask!