Chapter 1: Dark Pools Turned into Gold
A young Emma, seven years old, stood next to Leopold's mighty throne. The seat was a mixture of gold and red threading upon a stone structure in the shape of an elegant chair. It was placed in the middle of the royal court's back wall upon a few steps making the king the center of all authority. This placement made him look like he was higher than anyone that had to come into the room. Guards in dark chain-mail armor were stationed on either side of the platform before the steps. The royal court room was a rather large room, daunting and cold colored. A long deep red carpet spread all the way to the end until it reached the doors of the exit.
Emma shifted slightly from foot to foot, she had been standing there for many hours at this point while people came into the throne room to beg. Emma could feel the slight stings on her wrists from being chained to the floor the previous evening, not being allowed to sleep in her bed as punishment for looking Leopold in the eyes; even though he commanded her to.
The doors burst open with two more guards entering the room. The one on the left side held onto the arm of a sandy haired little boy, no older than six years old, and dragged him forward with force. The child was crying and trying his best to keep up with the two older men. The child's father walked behind them towards the throne. His body was shaking and his was breathing in fast puffs. Apparently, the boy was caught trying to steal a loaf of bread from one of the stalls in the market and was being taken into the throne room for his final judgment. The guards escorting the child stopped before they reached the stairs of the throne's platform. The child's father dropped to his hands and knees.
"Please Your Majesty." A scrawny man was crying on his knees begging. "Please, he's just a boy."
"A thief you mean." Leopold scoffed at the man and leaned back on his throne. Boredom was clear on his face. "You know the laws of my kingdom, a thief's life is forfeit the moment they take what isn't theirs. The boy is sentenced to death."
The father let out a strangled sob and covered his face with his hands. "Please Your Majesty, take me instead. My life for my son's." The man let his hands fall from his face and back down to the carpeted floor. He bent his body downward in a deep and pleading bow, his forehead touched the ground.
Leopold sighed as he sat even deeper into his throne. Then an idea struck the king, something that would hopefully fix his dreadful boredom.
"A life for a life." The older man pretended to ponder as if he didn't already have an end goal of this situation. "I'll tell you what, I will take your offer of a life for a life."
The father on his hands and knees visibly relaxed. Thinking that he saved his son's life, he lifted his torso up instead of being on all fours. But he paused any movement when he saw that the king was smirking devilishly. Fear spread across the man's face.
"To spare the thief of his crime, you must fight to the death." Leopold spoke loudly with authority, his voice echoed around the mostly silent room. The boy's father sucked in a deep breath. There was a chance he could save his boy if he fought to the death. He stood up from the ground with a new found determination. Like a warrior ready to do the greatest honor, to save someone he held dear.
"I accept, Your Majesty." The man steeled his face, fully prepared to do what he had to do to save his son from a death sentence.
King Leopold's devilish smirk grew into an even larger sinister smile as he turned his head to Emma, taking in the girl's defeated stature. Oh yes, this was going to be very entertaining for Leopold, indeed.
"You are to fight Princess Emma to the death, here in this room in front of this very throne. Her life, for your boy's life."
In the distance, the guards visibly stiffened. Some even looked around at each other trying to see if they heard correctly. Only to find the other guards making the same shocked faces as them.
Emma closed her eyes and bowed her head. She was in no position to refuse, after all the man before them was given the order by her king. So she walked down the steps with a heavy heart, her chest clenched deep within and struck her soul. Her body ached with her stiff muscles from sleeping in the dungeon the night before. The boy's father gasped as he looked between Emma and the King.
"But... but my King! She's the princess! A child!" The man cried out as he shook his head and staggered backwards in his steps. His mouth dropped open filled with horror. He moved his eyes to the princess as she continued to walk down the stairs of the platform holding an aura of a defeated and tortured child. This wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want to kill a child to save his own? Was this a joke? Was this really happening?
"Silence!" The king growled out with as much venom and authority in his voice he could make. "A life for a life you filthy peasant." Leopold grabbed a dagger from his side and tossed it to the floor in front of the platform. "Either you fight for the boy's life or both of your lives are the price. Don't you dare step outside of your place. You're getting graced with a chance of a lifetime. To free your rodent of a son from his deserved sentence."
Voices became muffled to Emma as she continued to walk forward towards the pleading man, blood rushed in her body. She thought at least in the end, after her seven years of life she would be free of this world. To be free of her suffering. This end is what she deserved, right?
Emma
A sultry voice entered her mind. She looked around the throne room and saw a flash of light. A split moment later, the boy's father was holding the dagger in front of Emma, his hands visibly shook and turned white with how hard he held the handle. There were tears flowing down his cheeks as his chest heaved in hard short breaths. He was speaking words the blonde couldn't hear, his lips quivered in the motions.
Emma
The same voice echoed in her ears as another flash of light took over her vision. Suddenly she was holding a dagger in the father's gut, a look of shock in his eyes as he looked down to the dagger extending out of his stomach. Emma looked down to her hands and they were covered in the man's blood. She felt as if she were in a daze, a blur from the darkness taking over a part of her soul.
Emma I'm here
The voice in her head became a whisper of another child. The young blonde turned around and came face to face with another young girl. Her hair was dark brown, almost black. It was long with elegant braids running down below her shoulders. Emma's dark green eyes made contact with the most alluring golden brown irises, the child before her was glowing, as if the sun touched her tan toned skin. They both stood there in silence and looked at each other, a familiarity before them, taking each other in, then the brunette turned and ran away with a giggle.
"W-Wait." Emma spoke aloud and moved her legs forward to run, her legs felt as if they were weightless. She couldn't fully feel her movements, only that she knew she was running. Her surroundings turned from castle into a forest, a place wholly familiar to the blonde, yet somehow not. The sound of a river reached her ears as she continued to run over mossy branches after the other girl. Glowing wisps floated through the air, giving the forest a gentle light filled with a peaceful feeling that gradually filled Emma's chest. The blonde stopped running and took in the sight of the forest completely.
Emma Swan
Emma heard a gentle whisper again, she faced forward and focused her eyes in front of her. The brunette was in front of her again. She held a smile towards the blonde that was so genuine and innocent, it took her breath away. The girl's eyes were still gently glowing a golden brown.
My Princess
Emma heard the girl's voice in her head but her lips didn't move. The young girl lifted her hand out for Emma to take. The blonde went to move her hand in response, but hesitated.
Come home
Emma heard the voice in her head again. She felt her body move without her control and lifted her hand to try and grab the brunette's. Emma saw the blood that covered her hand again and a flash covered her eyes once more, taking her away from the forest, to a burning village with screams filling the air. The screams echoed around the buildings set ablaze. Emma looked on in horror as her body went from a young child to an older version of herself. It was as if she had no control of her body as she moved forward. She walked into the village against her instincts telling her to run away. Women and children ran past her screaming in agony and fear. All of them covered in dirt, sweat and soot from the flames that surrounded them. It was as if it were all in slow motion as they ran past her. She felt like her body was floating, her own reality twisted. She could hear metal clashing with metal in the distance. The dance of swords is ever apparent within the sound.
When she reached the middle of the village, she saw herself clashing the blades with another person. Or a version of herself, except this self had platinum hair. The other person clashing swords was a male with a medium, muscular build. He was dressed in the armor of King Leopold's White Kingdom. Emma walked closer to the fight to get a better look. As the fight continued on it was a mix of twists, turns, slashes and clashes of the two blades. An unbelievably elegant and vicious dance of death the other Emma and this man were displaying.
"Graham?" she whispered as she got close enough to see the other person that she was fighting. Within the next moment she saw Graham's sword being knocked out of his hands and then his opponent twirled and slashed as hard as she could, removing the man's head from his body cleanly through the skin and bone of his neck. It caused his blood to splash onto the ground in a sickeningly gruesome scene as his body fell to the dirt.
A flash overtook Emma's vision again, and in an instant she was holding Graham's head in her hands. She dropped the man's head immediately and looked up making eye contact with herself. Except, her other self had blackened irises. It infiltrated all of her senses with the feeling of death staring back at her. The platinum blonde ran forward directly towards her and sliced through her abdomen with the blade. The cold and powerful metal went right through her body with little effort. They both stood there as Emma looked down and saw the hilt of the sword still held by the other woman. She didn't feel any pain, just a cold chill that seeped inside of her. The feeling slowly spread from her stomach to her chest as if her very blood was carrying a poison meant to spread throughout her body. She slowly cast her gaze upwards until she looked into the other Emma's deathly black pools. A glimpse of the monster that was spreading within her.
"We are one." The platinum blonde growled deeply, animal like, as blood began to drip out of the almost beastly looking Emma's mouth. It wasn't normal blood, it was black liquid, thick and coagulated. She saw the platinum blonde's teeth sharpen into fangs as she continued to speak words that Emma couldn't understand. It was all muffled, as if her ears were submerged in water.
Emma
She heard a whisper in her head echo again. Another light flashed over her eyes and she was sitting up against a majestic, deep mossy willow tree. In front of her was a small stream with more white and blue colored wisps floating above the water. She was back in the forest from before the flash of light took her away. She could tell it was the same because of the peaceful feeling that overwhelmed her senses. Her hands were moving through what felt like strands of silk outside of her vision. She looked down to find the same brunette girl from before that lead her into the forest, except this version of the girl was much older, a woman in fact. She had her head on Emma's lap, resting peacefully. All flashes of death from before slipped away from Emma's mind and was instead overtaken by the sight before her.
Emma sucked in a small, gentle breath because of how beautiful this woman was. She looked so calm with her eyes closed. The woman was in an elegant black dress. It was almost as if the woman was dressed as a member of royalty. A queen to be worshiped. Gentle curves of the woman's body felt like they could fit perfectly with the blonde's own. The woman resting on her lap stirred awake, first by knitting her eyebrows then slowly, she opened her eyes. The blonde reluctantly stopped running her fingers through the brunette's hair.
Was I asleep long? The brunette's gentle sultry voice called out to Emma's mind.
"No, not long my love." the blonde replied aloud in the most gentle tone that seemed entirely foreign to her.
The brunette turned her body upwards with her back onto the ground. Her golden brown eyes looked into Emma's deep green. The woman smiled gently and lifted her hand to caress the blonde's cheek and the princess leaned into the touch without breaking eye contact. Both of their faces were filled with a deep love and understanding of the other. As if they have known each other through lifetimes. The feeling that could never waiver, a trust of the purest form, not tainted by burdens.
Emma, you need to wake up now.
She heard the woman's voice echo in her head again. It sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine as she felt the woman's thumb run back and forth gently on her cheek. Such a soft touch, something she felt like she could never have, but in this moment let it consume her senses.
"I don't want to leave you." Emma's voice echoed back as she leaned down and kissed the brunette's forehead. She felt warmth course through her chest as her lips made contact with soft skin. She wanted nothing more than to stay with the woman laying her head delicately on her.
You must
The sultry voice echoed back, filled with sadness.
I love you, Emma.
A light flashed in Emma's eyes again and she was back in the throne room with her hand on a dagger that was stuck in the man's gut. He fell to his knees as she continued not to let go of the blade's handle. The man then grabbed Emma's arms and shook her, his eyes turned black and filled with the sense of hatred.
"MONSTER." He spit out at her. "FILTHY, DISGUSTING, MONSTER."
She shook her head as she tried to let go of the dagger, but it was as if her hand was stuck to the handle. "No. No." She kept repeating, each time she said no her voice would get more frantic.
"YOU KILLED ME. YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM MY SON." The man continued to shake her. Blood spit out of his mouth onto her face. The liquid felt sickeningly warm against her skin.
"No, no, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She felt tears run down her face.
Emma woke from her dream and shot up from her bed while she gasped for air. Her heart raced and her body felt like it was on fire. She moved her blanket off of her so fast it gave the room a small gust of wind from the fabric. After a moment she looked around her room and took in the darkness that surrounded her, it danced with shadows cast by the lit fireplace on the other side of her bed chambers, the fireplace that always kept her warm throughout the night. She knew the two servant women, Kaitlin and Elizabeth made sure to never let it run out. Next to the fireplace was a tiny plate with what appeared to be a bread bun. Kept warm by the fire as well as a small bundle of ripped cloth to redress her healing wounds.
Looking towards a large set of windowed doors in her chambers, she could see that the sun hadn't risen yet, which was a good thing in her mind, considering her heart was racing and she felt on edge. She quickly remembered that she had training she was required to attend to as soon as the sun rose. Training will be at the barracks with General Archibald and she couldn't allow herself to be late.
A week had passed since her victory in the pit and her body was still healing. Though of course it was a week filled with training and spar matches with the guards at the king's heavy orders despite her wounds being as bad as they were. Her wounds were mostly closed now, but she still felt the muscle strain in her body from not being allowed to rest during her healing process. The cuts were vast on her body, clearly not well taken care of considering she was banned from using poultices. However, General Archibald always found ways to sneak her some from the medical supply in the barracks by having either Kaitlin or Elizabeth somehow "forget" which chambers they were leaving such supplies in. Not that Emma fully understood why he would risk the girl's lives on the matter, let alone his own. The King was right that her wounds were all her fault and that she should learn not to get cut so easily.
She could still feel the blood on her hands from her dream. However, she was safely in her bed chambers, far away from the memory of her past.
Emma took a moment to close her eyes and think of the golden brown irises of the woman in her dream and the softness of the brunette's hair as she ran her fingers through it. Emma would always think of the brunette when she woke up because it calmed her, it made her feel safe. She dreamed of the mysterious woman ever since she was a child. Even if the woman was a figment of her dreams, it was the only thing in the blonde's life that made her feel like she wasn't a disgusting creature. The memories made by her dream world infiltrated her senses as a ghost feeling of the woman's skin upon hers blanketed her in warmth, not that she knew what it was like to have another person's skin touch hers without consequence or during battle outside of her dream realm. After a few moments she was able to calm her breathing and her heart rate.
Emma opened her eyes again and got up from the bed because she knew she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, not after what she endured in her dream realm that night. Knowing she was alone, she let herself wince because the wound on her side hadn't completely healed yet. Taking a steadying breath, she stood up straight and started her normal routine.
The princess grabbed her leather pants and blue tunic from her small wardrobe and placed them on the small table next to her sword then went back to the wardrobe to grab a breast wrap and underwear. The blonde put the fresh undergarments and breast wrap on, then she replaced her old bandages on her torso with the warmed tattered cloth by the fire, throwing the old bandages in the flames to get rid of all evidence of their being other bandages, before she put the rest of her clothing on. She slid her long leather boots over her feet and attached a belt and sword to her waist.
Emma looked back into the wardrobe, grabbed her leather armor pieces and put them on over her tunic one piece at a time. She buckled them securely on herself then proceeded to put braids in her hair.
After she felt dressed for the day, she looked towards the balcony attached to her chambers and she took this time to grab the small bread and walk out onto the platform. Below her castle prison she could see the burning torches of the village below. The torches were lit to shine the paths of the roaming guards and drunken villagers through the night. She grabbed the small, clearly falling apart wooden chair on the balcony and pulled it to the edge near the railing and looked up into the sky. The sun would rise soon and her day would begin. Each morning she would wake before the sun would rise, either from a nightmare or just because she was used to waking before the sun. The blonde would watch the sunrise whenever she was permitted to sleep in her bed chambers, a calm before the storm of her life each day. She tried her best not to think of her scars or where she was. She would allow herself to simply exist as she watched the colors form in the sky and as she let the sun bring warmth to her skin.
She would allow her mind to wander to dense forests and the land of magic beyond the white kingdom's borders. The freedom that people must of held there, since it was known that not a soul ever returned from the Enchanted Forest. She thought of gentle smiles and caresses of the woman in her dreams. What life would be like for her, if what she dreamed of was real.
Love is not meant for someone like me, I don't deserve it. She thought.
A knock on her chamber doors shook her out of her trance. The sun had risen by this time so she knew she was being collected for training. She got up from her chair on the balcony, making a cricking sound with the broken chair at her moments and walked back into her room.
"Enter," she said as she stood in the middle of her chambers. A guard she recognized from her dream walked in with his dark armor on. His sandy blonde hair was a little shaggy while his short beard was a darker color blonde. He was stiff as he stood at attention to Emma. Ever the dutiful guard.
"Your Grace, I have been tasked to escort you to the barracks for further training," He spoke with an accent.
"Graham, how many times have I told you to drop my title when in private?" Emma sighed.
The blonde was not a princess in her eyes, she was the lowest of the low. Graham knew that Emma did not believe herself to be royalty, so he always made it a point to call her by her rightful title, with respect.
After his father was killed instead of him, he was sentenced to join the royal guard. He was to be raised to protect the kingdom. He never blamed Emma for what she had to do to his father. Even at his age of six years old at the time, Graham could see the girl for what she was, innocent. When he watched his father beg for his life and instead was struck down by the princess in a battle to the death, he understood that the only monster in this kingdom was the king himself.
The moment the young Emma made eye contact with the young Graham after his father fell lifeless on the floor, he saw pain and sorrow in her eyes. The true emotion of a tortured soul. He remembered hearing whispers in the night about the princess being chained in dungeons and the evil whims of the king. As he was taken away by the guards to the barracks, he vowed to protect the princess with his life and to get his revenge on the king. He wanted to save them both, just like his father saved him.
Unfortunately for the royal that stood before him, what Emma had to do to his father was just the beginning of a new nightmare. Ever since Graham's father took the deal, the king made sure to give the people of this kingdom the chance at pardon for their crimes by a fight to the death with the princess. It lasted for a little over decade thus far, each fight getting more aggressive than the last. A villager or more had to be protected while the princess fought for all of their lives during each trial.
"Not enough, Princess." Graham smirked at her and relaxed his stance. He stepped to the side indicating that they should be on their way to the barracks. Emma rolled her eyes at the guard's display and walked by him. She noticed her friendly demeanor towards Graham and felt uncomfortable, opting to change her features into an emotionless facade as she got closer to the chamber's door.
"You're impossible," she muttered on her way out of the door. Graham smiled gently out of her gaze then followed her on the way.
She was always required to have an escort anywhere she went within the castle. Not that she tried to escape to begin with, since this was her home, her kingdom. The place she believed she belonged.
As Graham and Emma walked through the torch-lit halls of the darkened castle, they stepped in unison, a pace they both knew and practiced throughout their time over the last 12 years in silence amongst prying eyes of other guards and staff members of the castle. None of the servants dared make eye contact with her except for Graham and a select few guards she recognized from the barracks. She had to maintain a stoic face despite that she still felt weakened from her wounds. Her pace was noticeably forced and tense looking, but could only be detected by a very small few that were aware of her usual movements in better health. Ones that had trained with her consistently.
The guards they passed as they walked through the different corridors bowed their heads slightly without a word. To them this was the only way they could show their respect towards the princess. Otherwise, their favor would be noticed by the spies of the castle and then their lives would be at risk.
After a time, they reached different sets of stairs that led into the courtyard and then into the barracks. Neither one stopped to look upon the scenery of the courtyard as she was not allowed to before her training. When they passed through the entrance of the barracks, it was clear that they were early for training as no one had arrived yet, except for one person. They were greeted by the sight of King Leopold which made Emma falter in her steps. Normally he wouldn't step foot near the barracks.
She immediately averted her gaze and made a deep bow to her grandfather. To which she could hear him make a tsk tsk noise that showed his obvious disappointment.
"You're late." He spoke aloud, filled with malice.
