If Emma's parents noticed a change in Seth's demeanor, they didn't let on, but for her part, Emma couldn't help but notice how different her brother was with his heart back. He smiled and laughed and acted like any other child in the kingdom, and he no longer insisted on playing made up 'escape the palace' games in the courtyard.

Well, Emma knew now that they were never made up.

But Emma supposed she shouldn't be surprised that her parents didn't notice the change in Seth, because they also hadn't noticed how sullen and withdrawn she'd become. When she'd been younger, she'd despised how distracted her parents could become with overseeing their kingdom, but now she was grateful for the fact, because they weren't asking her what was wrong.

She wasn't sure how she'd even answer that question if they did.

On one hand, she was still livid with Regina, even weeks after Seth brought his heart back, because even if she'd never even met Seth before his encounter with the Queen, he was still her little brother and she loved him dearly. On the other hand, she still missed Regina dearly and some days she wanted nothing more than to be back in the dark palace, practicing magic or even just spending time with her. It was hard to reconcile the two conflicting emotions, as much as she tried.

Once the truth of Prince Michael's sham wedding spread over the land, and Emma watched her parents become more and more invested in the impending war that they still wouldn't talk to her about, Emma began to worry about Regina's safety.

It was a brisk fall afternoon while her father was briefing their army, that Emma decided to approach her mother with her worries.

"Mama," Emma said tentatively, once she found her mother scouring over parchments in the war room. She spent a lot of time in their these days, and for once, at least, she was alone.

"Emma, you shouldn't be in here. I don't want to worry you with any of this," Snow insisted, quickly gathering up the papers she was looking at.

"But I already am worried."

"Oh, honey," Snow said, looking up to meet Emma's troubled eyes. "You know we're not going to make you marry Prince Michael after all of this, don't you?"

Emma shook her head. "I'm not worried about that."

"What are you worried about, then?"

"Regina."

"Regina?" Snow repeated. "Why?"

"Is it true that her palace is under siege?"

"Wherever did you hear that?"

Emma shrugged. "People talk."

"Well, you mustn't worry yourself about such things, my darling. You're just a child."

"No, I'm not! You can't force me to meet suitors and then call me a child. If you expect me to be married, then you can include me in what's going on. How do you think I will ever be able to become a Queen or run a Kingdom if you shield me from everything?"

"Emma…"

"No! You've kept me locked away behind these walls my entire life. You keep everything a secret and I want to know the truth. Is there a war going on?"

Snow sighed, and then nodded. "Yes," she conceded, finally. "And Regina's palace is under siege, yes."

Emma's mouth gaped for a moment. She'd heard the staff around the palace talking, but a part of her had refused to believe it was true. How could this be happening? "Then we have to help her."

"Help her? Emma, she's our enemy."

"She's not my enemy. She's done terrible things, but she's not a terrible person, Mama. She's really not. I've seen… I've seen a side of her that you never have."

"Even if that's true, Emma, her army and her magic are strong, she doesn't need our protection. She's choosing not to fight. Perhaps she's grown weary of it all."

"She's hasn't! Mama, she can't fight back. She doesn't have her magic!"

"What are you talking about?"

"King Markus made a deal with Rumplestiltskin once, and he cashed in his favour to take away Regina's magic. She can't defend herself."

"How do you know all of this?"

Emma bit her lip. "Regina told me. The night of my birthday, when I went to her palace."

"You told us you never saw her that night. You said her knights stopped you before you entered the palace and brought you back."

"I know I did. And I'm sorry. But now you know she needs our help."

Snow paused for a moment, seemingly processing this new information in her mind before speaking again. "Well… Emma, you know she lies. This could all be a setup. You know she wants nothing more than to see the demise of this Kingdom, and she could be setting a trap for us herself."

"She's not! Her magic is gone."

"Emma-" Snow was cut off as Charming burst through the door, followed by several members of the White Kingdom guard.

"Daddy, wait," Emma insisted, as her father quickly ushered her out of the room, but it was no use. Her father was in no frame of mind to listen to her, especially about Regina, and her mother was already distracted, listening to whatever the head of the guard was telling her now.

The door thudded shut behind her, and Emma stood alone in the long empty corridor. Seeking her parents' assistance in rescuing Regina was clearly off the table, and Emma knew she was going to have to come up with another plan.

That night, in her bed chambers, Emma stared at her own reflection in the mirror, her hand on the swan pendant around her neck, as she debated what she could do to help Regina. Leaving the palace would be a challenge now, since after her last escape, her parents had guards posted outside her room at night.

She stared at herself intently, willing herself to come up with something, until she noticed something odd about the chain of her necklace. The chain had shifted and the clasp was sitting about two inches from the pendant now, which was not so strange in itself, except for that this necklace had never had a clasp.

Emma had checked this chain hundreds of times, but Regina had made sure that it could not be removed from her neck. Emma guessed that with Regina's magic gone, the spell had been broken. And if the spell was broken…

Emma got up at once, the threw the doors to her bedchamber open. As expected, the two guards stationed outside immediately told her to go back to bed, as she was forbidden to leave her room at night.

Emma stared at them both for a moment, before raising her hands. She hadn't used magic in quite some time, but she could feel it deep inside her, and she forced it to the surface. She imagined both the guards sleeping, and as they began to approach her, she let her magic shoot out of her palms.

She'd never used quite that much force before, and as both guards fell back, she wondered if it was too much, but sure enough, they were both still breathing. Emma didn't have time to waste, and she took off through the halls.

She passed three more guards on her way, and she used her newfound magical strength to cast the same spell on each of them without even slowing down. For a fraction of a second, she wondered if Regina would be proud of her for harnessing this on her own, or angry that she was using magic she didn't understand so carelessly. But it didn't matter what Regina thought. For all Emma knew, she could be dead already, and all she knew was she had to get there fast if she stood any chance in helping her.

Emma ran to the stables, wishing she'd learned how to poof. Regina made it look so easy, but Emma had no idea where to even begin with that, and she didn't have time to waste in attempting it only to fail. She threw the stable doors open and stared at the horses. She'd never ridden any of these horses, and she wasn't sure any of them had been ridden in quite some time. Her mother never allowed her in the stables as a child, and there hadn't been much of a need for riding behind the giant palace walls.

Still, it was dark and Regina's palace was far, and Emma knew it would take too long to go by foot. She picked a horse at random and didn't even bother with a saddle, hoping that her one and only riding lesson would be enough to ride this horse bareback to Regina.

The horse seemed calm enough as Emma led him to stand by a stepping stool so she could climb on. She held his mane and squeezed her legs tightly around his torso to hold on as she led him toward the large gate at the edge of the courtyard, glancing back once to make sure she wasn't being followed.

By the time day broke, they would know she was missing and likely figure out where she was, but at least she'd have a head start.

When they reached the gates, Emma focused her magic and thoughts on them swinging open, and before long, they did. Emma nearly giggled at how easy it was, but forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She gripped the horse's mane tightly, and said firmly, "Take me to Regina."

Without a moment's hesitation, the horse took off. Emma held on for dear life as she forced her thoughts to remain on Regina and the Dark Palace, since she knew the horse was acting under the will of her magic. The speed was terrifying, but Emma refused to let herself think about what might happen if she were thrown from the horse and laying injured in the woods someplace, with no one knowing where she was.

Even at this speed, the ride felt way too long, and with every passing minute, Emma worried more about Regina. What if they'd taken her prisoner already, what would she do then? What if they really had killed her? Without her magic, it was a possibility, and Emma didn't know how long Regina's knights would be able to ward off the attack. What if they didn't follow her orders at all, when she couldn't force them too?

All thoughts of anger and disappointment at Regina's betrayal were gone now, and on the horizon, Emma could see the light of the torches held up by King Markus's army.

"Whoa!" she cried out, and the horse slowed immediately. In the distance, she could still see Regina's army, and the two sides appeared to be in some sort of stand off.

Her parents never let her in the war room, so Emma wasn't fully versed in how these things generally went, but from what she could tell as she and the horse approached at a much slower speed, the two armies seemed evenly matched in terms of size.

Emma reasoned that if King Markus's army was still here, they hadn't managed to capture Regina yet, so there was still time. All she had to do was find a way into the palace. She needed to get in, find Regina, and find out what she should do. Regina would know how to use her magic to win this fight, all Emma had to do was get in…

"Halt! Who goes there!"

Emma's breath hitched in her throat as she heard the gruff voice. Moments later, a large man in full armour holding a torch approached on horseback. He wasn't one of Regina's dark knights, which could only mean one thing.

"I said identify yourself!"

Emma blinked as panic set in. She couldn't reveal herself without risk of being captured herself. She quickly scanned the path before her. With the light of the sun just starting to peak over the mountains in the distance she could relatively see a path toward the castle. She had to go for it.

"Go!" she screamed, and the horse took off again. In her haste, she hadn't managed to get a good grip on the horse's mane before he reached full speed again, and the last thing she remembered before hitting the ground was a glimpse of what looked like her Kingdom's knights in the distance.