Emma ditched her horse as she got to the outskirts of the White Kingdom. It would take her a bit longer to reach the castle, but she could stay off the roads this way. She reached the edge of the castle courtyard on the second day, hours before King Leopold's funeral was to begin. She wore her White castle uniform, head helmeted so that she wouldn't be spotted. Emma staked out the grounds and the guards, knowing the funeral would provide her the best opportunity to slip in unnoticed.
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Emma was right, as the funeral began, the courtyard was nearly empty, allowing Emma a clear shot to the barracks unmolested. She slipped in, seeing close up how badly Snow's men truly lived. It stunk of rotten meat and sweat, broken cots and old bandages scattered about.
Emma walked into the heart of the barracks where most of the men were gathered fixing their damaged armor and eating table scraps. She walked into their midst and noticed one or two that she recognized. One in particular...What was his name? Paul-no. Percy-uh uh. Perdicus? Wrong genre. Phillip! Yes, that was it. Phillip. Emma stood in front of Phillip and took a deep breath before pulling her helmet off, letting her long blonde locks fall across her shoulders.
Phillip and the men around him gasped and drew their swords, immediately recognizing their former Captain of the Guard, traitor. He stood up, at full attention. "Captain! Just what the hell do you think you're doing in here, traitor?!"
Emma put her hands up, allowing some of the men to strip her of her sword and dagger. "I come here in peace," Emma insisted.
Phillip laughed, and the men around him did as well as they surrounded her. "Peace? Peace?! You say peace after killing the Queen's father and helping the murderer to escape? Attempting to kill the very person you swore to protect?!"
"You know that's not true. Those are lies spread by Snow White. She had her assassin kill Leopold, and almost killed the queen as well. She wants to control the Black Kingdom and run IT to the ground as well. I kept a blind eye to what was really going on in this castle until recently. But you- all of you know the truth!"
Phillip scoffed as she pressed his blade into Emma's throat. "What truth is that, dear Captain? That I shall receive 500 gold coins for turning you in?!"
Emma offered a half smile. "That...but also, that you all know what took me so long to figure out. That Snow is not who she pretends to be. She is an oppressive leader who lets her people, including her soldiers...those who have pledged to die for her...live in squalor." Emma allowed herself for once in her life to be emotional in front of the men she fought along side. She saw Phillip cock his head in curiosity. "I have seen first hand how things are in the Black Kingdom. All the things Snow has told you about Queen Regina...they're wrong."
Phillip laughed. "Wrong!? You truly are brainwashed, aren't you?"
Emma shook her head. "I lived in that kingdom for three months. THREE MONTHS! I saw EVERYTHING! It is NOTHING like she has told us." Emma whispered the next word. "Nothing!"
Phillip loosed the sword at Emma's throat, causing the other men to relax slightly. Clearly, Phillip was their leader. Emma had chosen wisely. "What are you talking about?"
Emma sensed the sincerity, the pleading for any reason to let his loyalty to a rusty, bloody throne be forfeited. "Everything she said...all the things she said Regina did was untrue. In fact, it's all things she did herself." She breathed heavy while the men waited for more explanations. "I saw...their lands. They're thriving. The people are making money off their lands, enough to feed their family and their animals without problem. The queen is fair. She offers them to make their debts in payments instead of throwing them into debtors prison where they are no good. She gives orphans a chance by giving them valuable skills that will help them to be contributing citizens in the future. She doesn't hang them in the city square like Snow." Emma watched as the men peered at each other, weapons falling even further lower. "She treats her people well, and her soldiers with the same dedication they have pledged to her." The men cocked their heads. "With fairness, good pay, respect, and compassion." They shook their heads in disbelief. "It's true. I have seen it first hand for myself."
Phillip dropped his sword completely. "Then why have you returned here..knowing you could die for treason?"
Emma sighed, finally feeling comfortable enough to drop her arms to her sides. "For her. For Queen Regina." The men looked at each other. "Tomorrow Snow is going to send all of you to kill her for a crime she didn't commit. To take over a kingdom she has long lusted after, and killed her own father to obtain."
The men mumbled a bit but still held Emma in their sights. Emma looked across the room, meeting as many eyes as she could. "You all have experienced how Queen Snow keeps her people. Weak...vulnerable. In the Black Kingdom people are treated with respect. Given a chance to survive. Not like here. If you switch sides, help me defeat Snow's army, I can guarantee your lives will be exponentially better."
Phillip furrowed his eyebrows. "What's...exponentially mean!?"
Emma shook her head, laughing to herself. "It means you won't be hungry. None of your family will be hungry. You won't live in filth. Life will be better."
Phillip cocked his head and looked at his men, searching for answers in each others eyes. They held none. His sword returned to Emma's throat. "Why should we believe you, traitor?"
Emma sighed and looked Phillip straight in the eye. "I spent a leisurely afternoon with Queen Regina and a young boy named Henry. She told young Henry a Fairytale. In the Fairytale, a princess fell victim to a villainous sorceress who cursed her with a sleeping spell. Her true love, her Prince, came and woke her with true love's kiss, and killed a dragon with a sword through the heart."
Phillip looked at her in confusion.
Emma smiled. "The Prince's name in the story was Phillip." She saw immediately how Phillip retreated.
He, just like all the men there, never had any hope of becoming anything more than hired meat. It was just a story. But to hear his name being used as a hero...as a prince...somehow it brought him hope. He furrowed his eyebrows and swallowed.
Emma breathed out in relief. "Now, I have a plan. A plan to stop Snow and help the Black Castle achieve victory. If you help me, the Queen has promised you immunity when the war is over. She will welcome you into her army with no questions asked, and the government will help assure that each and every one of you will get the help you need."
"What kind of help?" A voice came from the back.
"Anything. Medicines for sick children. Jobs for wives and older children. Repair work on equipment or homes. Even loans from the crown if need be. You will be taken care of. The Queen has sworn it." She saw the men contemplating and waited patiently. "What do you say?"
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Regina tried to keep herself busy in order to keep her mind off Emma. She made arrangements to have anyone living in the castle relocated elsewhere so they would be safe when the White army arrived. She arranged for a makeshift infirmary to be set up to house the many wounded there were sure to be. She held war councils with Robin to work out their best plans for defense against a far superior army. They had no way to know if Emma's plan had worked. They had no idea if Emma was even still alive. This unknown caused a burning in Regina's heart that caused her agony every second as the days ticked by. She hardly slept, visions of Emma hanging outside the White Castle invading her dreams. She wept into her pillow at the unknown, the imagined, the emptiness. The approach of Snow's army was eminent, and Regina would know of Emma's and her own fate very soon.
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Regina stood in the highest pulpit that laid outside her chambers. Regina was not a warrior, since she was married to Leopold, the tradition of royals fighting along with the men would have fallen to him, not Regina. So she stood watch over the battlefield from the relative safety of the pulpit. However, if defense of the castle fell, it would only be a matter of time until she was swinging in the gallows below.
The fear throughout the castle was thick, men scurrying about to get into positions as they could hear Snow's army marching closer. Archers were posted all along the castle wall, waiting as the large army inched closer. The bulk of Regina's army waited just inside the gate. Robin had ensured that no one was put in harms way until they had a clear view of whether or not Emma's plan had worked, and just where exactly she was.
The army marched forward and Regina swallowed thickly. There was no way she could see Emma from that height, she was just too far away. She did see four separate battalions approaching, all in a straight line, stretching out horizontally across the front of the castle. She saw ladders, several catapults, and thousands of men. To the front of the second battalion from the left, Regina could see the royal guard where James sat proudly on his horse, ready to lead the charge to battle. At the very rear of the same battalion was a carriage surrounded by guards that no doubt contained Snow White. She surely didn't want to miss Regina's hanging.
A few hundred feet from the castle walls, the battalions halted and a deafening silence rang out. Robin searched the field vigorously, begging for any sign from Emma that she had been successful. Each battalion had a bannerman, waving the crest of the White Kingdom. Robin searched and searched, but could see no sign of Emma. His heart sunk. They were truly doomed.
August sat on his horse next to King James, smile on his face. "They're quivering behind their own gate," he scoffed. He looked over at King James. "Shall we, your highness?"
James nodded. "Send in the first unit."
August nodded and turned to his left. "First battalion, advance!" August looked over as not a single man moved. "I said first battalion advance!" He repeated louder.
Robin noticed the occurrence and squinted, trying to see and hear exactly what was happening. He heard a familiar voice ring out.
"About face!"
August's jaw dropped as the first battalion turned on their heels and faced his line. He recognized the voice as one Emma Swan. He gritted his teeth as the White banner was dropped, replaced in the air with the black insignia of the Black Kingdom. Suddenly in the front line he saw as Emma removed her helmet and grinned at him.
August seethed with hatred. "Swan!" He heard the men around him fidgeting and murmuring. He saw as Emma pulled a black sash over her shoulder and draw her sword. The men in the entire first battalion also pulled sashes around their armor, and August raged.
Robin shouted with triumph. "Yes! Yes, it's Swan! She did it!" Robin's attention was drawn to the battalion on the other side of the field. They had also made an about face, turned toward the remaining two White Kingdom units.
Phillip ordered his troops to about face, each man pulling a black sash around their armor. They now had the two remaining units surrounded, and Phillip took a deep breath as his bannerman raised the black flag in the air.
Regina smiled down at Emma, but then realized she was right in the thick of battle that was about to break out.
Robin shouted across to the archers who were ready to loose their arrows. "Look for black sashes! Don't fire at any man wearing a black sash! They're on our side! Pass the message down!" He looked down at the men waiting behind the gate and barked out the same orders. Emma stared at August who had now noticed that another battalion had defected. He gritted his teeth and let out a bone chilling scream.
Emma raised her sword and smiled. "First battalion!" The men behind Emma drew their swords. "Attack!"
Emma's line pushed forward, and like a chain reaction the battle began. Phillip's line advanced opposite Emma's, and seconds later Robin opened the gate, Black soldiers pouring out into the field. Snow's men were surrounded on three sides, and they were now vastly outnumbered.
Regina's heart was in her throat as the clashing of swords and cries of battle rang out and met her ears in a deafening jumble. She stared down in horror as the reality of war raged outside her doorstep. And what was worse, she had lost sight of Emma.