Pressure

Wow! I asked for requests and you guys did not disappoint! Thank you so much, it means a lot :). So to kick things off, a guest asked for a oneshot where Emma grew up with Snow and Charming in the Enchanted Forest but is tired of having the weight of being the oldest and heir to the kingdom on her shoulders. She is fed up with always having to be the "responsible" child and never being allowed to do fun things like her siblings get to do because she's the future Queen. She's tired of Snow always being on her case, especially after today when she was told she couldn't have a birthday party this year but instead they would be throwing a ball so Emma could honour those in the kingdom and show them how kind and just she will be as their ruler one day. Emma decides she has had it and runs away. Snow eventually catches up to her.

Emma tried her hardest to get comfortable on her tree branch. She may as well get used to it, she'd be sleeping in them from now on. She'd had it with being "Princess Emma", the future Queen of the Enchanted Forest. She just wanted to be Emma, like any other thirteen year old. Well, nearly thirteen year old. The pressure had been mounting up for a while now. Every time she got caught with her siblings doing something they weren't meant to she was almost always the only one that got in trouble. Sometimes even when she wasn't involved she got in trouble because apparently she should have been keeping an eye on them her parents told her. They weren't her kids! Why should she be responsible for them? It was bad enough knowing she'd having the responsibility of the kingdom without having the responsibility of those dorks. And now one of the few things she actually got the way she wanted was taken away from her. Her birthday party. Every year she would tell her parents what she wanted to do for her birthday, be it a picnic, trip to the meadow or whatever. It was never a problem, she always got it. But not this year. This year when she approached her parents with her idea she was told no, she was having a special Ball. Emma hated Balls, as well her parents knew. She tried to persuade them to change their minds, but they were having none of it. They told her she had to have this Ball, to honour the people of the kingdom. To show them what a good Queen she'd be to them. Good Queen? She was only going to be thirteen! What thirteen year old knows how to run a kingdom? Emma had decided she'd had enough. She stormed out of her parents' office and up to her room. She packed a small bag with a few provisions and left without saying a word. She didn't want any of this, nobody had ever asked her opinion, and they just told her to be grateful. She didn't always understand what for. Sure, she got that she was lucky her parents' had so much money. That she got to have a good education. But nobody ever thinks of the downsides. She doesn't get to behave like normal children do. She has to be a proper little princess. Make her parents and her kingdom proud. That's an awful lot of pressure for one kid.

Emma had to be careful when making her way through the forest. The problem of having a werewolf for an aunt is that their pretty good at tracking. So she'd made extra sure to cover both her smell and her tracks. Also taking a new route through the forest, remembering words one of her tutors had once told her: "The best way to lose someone is to get lost yourself". So get lost she did. Emma had no idea where she was, but she wasn't frightened. She felt free. It was beginning to get dark. Emma made sure she was secure before lying back on her branch and looking up at the stars. A small smile graced her face as her eyes closed.

Emma started slightly as she heard a small cough. Her head shot up. It was still pitch black, she couldn't make out who it was. Her heart was thudding in her chest, this wasn't so fun anymore.

"Running away huh?" Her mother's familiar voice rang out. Emma groaned, dropping her head back down.

"How?" She groaned.

"Sweetheart, I know you better than you think." Snow answered simply.

"Oh really?" Emma asked sceptically. Right now it seemed like her parents didn't know her at all.

"Yes, really. You forget I was a bandit once Emma. As well as me knowing you, you're more like me than you care to think." Emma just scoffed at that. She was nothing like her mom. "It's true Emma. Think about it. When I was in my bandit years I'd do my best to get lost in here, make it hard for anyone to find me. What exactly is it you're doing?" Emma stayed silent, not having an answer. "I thought so." Snow said, amused. "Come on baby, you've scared the living daylights out of your father and I. We were really scared when we saw you were missing."

"You were just worried you'd lost your precious heir and your stupid Ball would be ruined." Emma grumbled back. Snow was genuinely hurt at that. Is that what Emma felt her parents thought of her? Snow reached out and took Emma's hand, ignoring Emma's attempts to pull away. She wouldn't let her.

"No, Emma. We were worried our daughter was scared and alone. Or worse…" Snow shuddered. "Anything could have happened to you. Please Emma, come home." Snow asked. Of course Snow had no intention of leaving Emma out here on her own, but she wanted Emma to come back home because she wanted to. Otherwise Snow knew she'd just run away again.

"No, I don't want to come home." Emma said firmly. "Just go away! I can be who I want out here, if I go back I can't be me anymore!" Emma burst into tears and it was too much for Snow to take. Luckily it was a big enough branch for them both to sit on. Snow gently untied Emma from the branch and pulled her over, holding Emma to her chest. Emma was too emotional to pull away. She just sobbed into her mother's chest as Snow rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Hey, listen." Snow said gently. "You will always be able to be Emma. I know this isn't easy. Believe me, I remember what it's like. But I promise you, it's going to be ok. I know it feels like the world is on your shoulders. And that you don't want this Ball. That you don't feel ready to be Queen. But Emma, honey, you're not going to be Queen for a very long time. These are all just little formalities. You're still a little girl, and I know sometimes it feels like we're expecting you to act like a grown up, but we do understand that you're still a child and we won't ask you to make any grown up decisions until you're ready, ok? We'll ease up a little, I promise. We're obviously being a little too harsh at the moment. Please honey, just come home." Emma nodded wearily into her mom's chest. The truth was she didn't want to be out here alone. It was cold, dark and scary. Snow sighed with relief. "Good. Let's get you home and back to bed. You need a good night's sleep." Snow helped Emma down out of the tree and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close. Like she always would.