Emma ate breakfast early the following day and made her way out of the deceptively large magical house. Her sword and two daggers were magically hidden on her. She wore a plain dress and sturdy boots and brought along some bread, hard cheese, and an apple. She knew she could always forage for fruits and nuts if the food she brought wouldn't suffice.

When she took the food from the kitchen, she left a note that she was going hiking. She wanted to stretch her legs and get away from home. Being there only made her feel restless. So, she set off to hike up the mountain. The seemingly small cottage was tucked inside a valley slightly up the side of one mountain. It was that mountain she began to explore.

She picked her way up a narrow path. She figured it was for game hunters. Graham, her godmother's husband, had taught her how to track all types of animals and how to stay downwind to remain undetected. As she walked, Emma noted that a rabbit had crossed the path some time early that morning. The footprint that was left in the now dry but formally dew-dampened ground was evidence of that.

While the cottage they lived in was on the edge of the forest, she had now stepped out from under the trees and made her way through a field of heather. The stalks of flowers gently swayed in the breeze, stirring up a beautiful fragrant smell.

Here, looking at a seeming ocean of flowers, calmed her mind for the first time since she heard the plan for her parents and friends to risk their lives while she waited around at home. Emma wasn't facing the possibility of only her parents getting hurt or killed. Every single one in the group of ten was close to her and had been around since before her birth. They were her family in every bond that mattered to her. Even Blue, who loved to lecture her, was like a strict aunt. One that, on several actual occasions, had saved Emma's life. Times that included failed magic spells as she was learning, down to a mama bear attack. After all, young Emma thought the baby bear was just too cute and needed a hat to wear in the sun. The baby bear's mother didn't agree with that in the least.

Emma reached down and plucked a stalk of heather and twirled it between her thumb and index finger as she walked on. She thought back to how fear didn't exist for her as a child. Her parents and everyone she knew hid the truth about the evil queen from her. She didn't know her mother was a wanted woman or that they had fled from their palace and kingdom. All she was aware of until the age of eleven was that there was an evil queen, and they all kept quiet and stayed out of her way. That sounded normal to her; it was what everyone else did too. No one wanted to get noticed by the Queen. Everyone kept their heads down and lived their lives as best they could.

It was well into her eleventh year when she first saw the wanted poster for her mother. Luckily she was so stunned she said nothing. She just ran to their home they had by the beach at the time, and told her father what she saw. They left their home that night under the cover of the new moon with her parent's friends. They walked for six days until they found the abandoned cottage in the forest they now lived in. At the time, before she mastered her magic, the place wasn't bigger on the inside. They all slept on the floor in the only room the cottage had. It had been an abrupt wake-up call for her.

Her whole world changed that day in town with the wanted poster for her mother. The entire walk, she was quiet –everyone was. The others did it to avoid detection; she was lost in thought. She was shocked to discover that "Princess" wasn't just a nickname for her to everyone else. They really believed she was one. It was the first time she wondered if a deposed ruler and her heir could maintain their titles or if it was just silly. Regina took the throne. By the law of force, it was hers. Might might not make right, but it did make rulers.

As she walked, she came upon a small waterfall and drank from the cool, clean water, pulled out her apple, and began to eat. As she listened to the crunch of the apple and the trickle of the waterfall, she turned and looked back down the way she had come. The flowers and the forest nestled in the valley were beautiful to her.

She sat on a fallen log and sighed. She decided to take some time to really gather her thoughts. Emma suspected she was pouting a bit about being left behind and knew there was much to be grateful for in her life. Early on in the decision for her to stay back, she wondered if it was to preserve an heir to the throne. She quickly dismissed that; if it had been, more would have stayed with her. As it was, only Granny, Gepetto, Guinevere, and Roland were left behind with her. That wasn't enough people for her to take the kingdom if something happened to the others.

She suspected the truth was everyone still saw her as that crying little girl who found out her mother was hunted by the evil queen. Now she was eighteen years old and trained to help, but they all still saw her as someone weak to protect. And when that began to make her mad, she realized that weak probably wasn't the word. They all probably all saw her as something precious to love and protect. She was the hope her parents received in the woods on the run for their lives. She was proof that good could come from the life they lived, for each one of them.

Emma didn't want to be a talisman of hope that good comes out of difficult times. She wanted to be like her mother; she wanted to fight for her future. She wanted to be someone who could change her destiny and fight for those she loved.

She threw out her arms and flopped on her back in the soft grass, and made a frustrated growl. She got why her parents and everyone else made her stay behind. She would have done the same thing in their place. Her problem was that she still knew there was more to life than being a protected princess to no kingdom at all. There was adventure out there, and she had thrived on the stories that were told to her about the heroic deeds of her parents, how her mother's first act when meeting Charming was to attack the man she now loves. Emma could still see the scar from the rock that was used. Their love story was epic and full of romance, adventure, danger, and hope. How could she live an everyday boring life when her parents had lived so fully?

The question that popped into her head now was, should she go for adventure at all costs? Could she live with herself if she went against her parents and those that loved her? Or could she ever enjoy her life if she didn't?

Everyone on the mission left before sunrise yesterday morning. Emma decided to give herself four days to determine her course—four days to decide how she would live her life.

She felt the breeze on her face, which smelled like the ocean just beyond the mountain. Something in that smell made her think of freedom.

She stood and headed down the mountain. As she did, she thought about how she was now giving herself four days. Four days to prepare for her escape and head toward the ocean.

It didn't dawn on her how she had already made her decision.