Chapter 3

Previously on Whose Am I:

"So your Granny decided to raise you and Lily. Based on your story, Lily is a dragon and your parents are The Charmings. I'm afraid I don't understand how you have three parents." Dr. Rojas was enthralled with Emma's tall tale.

Emma let out a heavy sigh, "Now that you have the backstory, we can answer that with what happened yesterday on my birthday."

Enchanted Forest - 30 years ago

As Lily and I grew up, we discovered we could use magic. We didn't know anyone who could teach us so we would play and teach ourselves when we'd go wandering in the forest to play. Granny had been honest about our origins and the pack took us in as their own pups. No one in town questioned our identity since we lived with Granny and were always with a pack. They assumed we were young werewolves like my sister, Ruby.

Usually, people would confuse Lily and I even though we have different colored hair because other than hair color, we were identical. What they also failed to notice was that our birth marks were on different arms. My mark is on my right arm and hers is on her left.

The morning of our 16th birthday Lily and I were running a high fever. We had intense itching and it felt like something was crawling under our skin. Soon, our eyes were glowing a bright green color and light green magic was rising from our skin like steam from boiling water. Our scent began to change and my Granny knew she had to get us outside because we were about to transform. Right after Granny took us outside, our metamorphosis began. She watched as we began to grow wings and claws and our size increased. Soon enough, she was staring at two dragons; identical in almost every way. The sole difference being the location of our birth marks.

'Girls, can you hear me?' she tried communicating telepathically since we were changelings like herself.

'Granny! What's happening to us?'

"Oh, thank the Gods." Granny put her hand on her chest in relief that they could still communicate.

'Girls, you are obviously part dragon. It'll be okay. You've always known you've had magic. This is just another aspect to it. It is nothing to be feared. It is something to be embraced. A gift! Calm your minds.'

We calmed immediately and then Lily and I looked at each other in a silent communication. Soon we were flapping our wings and taking off in flight. Granny could hear our happiness and wonder as we discovered a new way to view the world. She watched in awe as we circled around in the sky and darted around one another in a playful game.

Once we landed, we looked to Granny for help. 'Granny, how do we change back?' Lily asked.

'Calm minds and think about what you want your body to do. Think about what has to happen to become human again. Once you've done this once, you'll have the muscle memory to do it easily in the future.'

It took a few minutes, but then we were back to our human forms. When I looked down and saw myself naked, I turned beet red and quickly ran inside to cover up. Lily, meanwhile, stayed outside without a care in the world.

"Get in that house and get dressed, Girl." Granny rolled her eyes at her wild child.

"Fine." Lily huffed and went inside.

When we were finally dressed and had freshened up, we noticed that Granny hadn't returned inside.

"NOOOOO!"

We heard Ruby's scream outside and ran to the door. When we walked out, we saw Granny on the ground and a man with his sword drawn and covered in blood. 20 feet away stood a blonde woman wearing a purple dress and a horned headdress. Ruby was crying while holding Granny and a pack of wolves was walking out from the forest with their hackles up.

I could feel my magic building up under my skin just begging for release and my inner dragon was begging to come out, but I knew I needed to find out what happened first. "Ruby? What the hell is going on?" I ran over to Granny and fell to my knees as she lied there struggling to breathe and in pain.

Ruby sniffled, "That blonde woman over there claims to be your mother and that blue woman over there came with these soldiers claiming she's come to take you back to your mother."

I knew then that the soldiers belonged to the White Kingdom and the blonde must have been Maleficent.

Granny coughed up blood and tried to talk, "They must have sensed your magic and realized your identities." She coughed harder and grasped my hand tight.

Lily walked up behind me and kept staring at the blonde woman, "That must make you Maleficent." She then turned to the woman in blue, "and that makes you Snow White." She snarled out.

The woman in blue cleared her throat, "No, dear. I am the Blue Fairy. I am Snow White's fairy godmother."

The moment Lily heard those words, her magic surged from her hands and she shot a black lightening bolt into the Blue Fairy. The fairy fell to the ground gasping for air and holding her stomach in pain while staring in horror at Lily. The soldiers drew their swords and pointed them at Lily and the three of us on the ground. Two soldiers had their swords still pointed at Maleficent.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and summoned her magic which created green smoke that surrounded the soldiers. Seconds later, they all collapsed in a deep sleep. She glided over to us and kneeled down to gauge my Granny's injuries. I allowed her to do it in hopes she could help somehow. She looked up at us and shook her head, "I'm so sorry, Girls. The soldiers used silver swords coated with wolfsbane. There is nothing that I can do."

Lily charged the woman, "You're lying! There has to be something."

Granny coughed and quietly spoke, "Calm your minds, my girls. I'm afraid she's correct." Her eyes stared at Maleficent's in silent apology and the dragon understood.

"Thank you for taking care of my girls." She smiled and patted my Granny's hand in gratitude.

I looked up at her, "Your girls?"

Mal sighed and looked over at Blue who was still on the ground in pain and struggling to breathe, but shrugged at the sight and turned back to me, "I'm guessing your Granny told you about the day you two were born…" she looked between Lily and I and saw us nod so she continued, "The spell that the blue gnat used coupled with Rumpelstiltskin's interference caused the two of you to merge magic and parentage. That's why your magical signatures are the same and you're almost identical." Looking down at their arms and noticing the marks, she continued, "The marks on your arms are the result of the curse used to try and separate the darkness from Emma. It failed and left that mark. A scar, if you will. It too, contains magic." We looked at our arms and then back to her. "Lily inherited Emma's light magic while Emma inherited Lily's dragon magic." She stared at both girls studying their faces, "You both share traits of myself and the Charmings."

I had looked over at Blue as Maleficent told us about our origins and she looked back at me in disgust. Then, Ruby decided to speak up when she realized there was someone not mentioned, "What about Lily's father? You didn't mention him. Just the Charmings and yourself."

Lily pursed her lips and glared at Ruby annoyed. "Of course, you'd notice that." Ruby just stuck her tongue out.

Mal snickered, "We dragons can reproduce by through a process known as mitotic parthenogenesis. It's the ability of a female to reproduce without a male for survival of its species."

"Mito what?" I was so confused.

"I've studied many different realms in my centuries of life and one realm had used this term to describe how some reptile and amphibian species reproduce without the use of males." Maleficent spoke like it was no big deal that she was centuries old and knew of different worlds while we just sat shocked.

My Granny coughed again and our attention was redirected to her, "Granny, please don't go. We need you. What can I do?"

Lily came and sat next to me. Granny looked up, "I'm so proud of you girls. You will always be my pups and I couldn't have asked for a better family." She glanced at Maleficent and then back to her girls, "I'm sorry I kept you from your parents, but I did what I felt was right." She coughed again.

"We know, Granny. Don't worry about that. You've given us a great life and I can't imagine a it any different. Please don't apologize. We love you so much."

Granny smiled and slowly closed her eyes as her grip released and arm dropped to her side. The wolves behind them howled at the sky while Lily, Ruby and I hugged each other tight. I was so upset by what happened that my anger took over and I broke away from my sisters and stormed over to the writhing Blue Fairy. Looking down at her, I held out my opened hand and created a black, sparking ball of magic. I stared at it and managed to manipulate its shape to form a sword. "I will never forgive you or The Charmings. The Blue Fairy's eyes grew wide and with every ounce of magic she had left, she teleported away before Emma could run her through.

I turned back to my sisters, "We can no longer stay here. They'll be back."

Ruby looked at Maleficent with distaste, "I'm not going with her. I'm staying with my pack."

"Ruby, you and the pack will be danger. The Charmings will see this as a betrayal and come after you!"

Mal spoke up then, "Go to the Dark Kingdom. Wolves are protected there and The Charmings wouldn't dare to go there.

I looked at Mal and then stared at Lily. I could tell we were of the same mind, "Then we go with Ruby and our pack."

Maleficent turned to me, "What? Your pack? But…"

I held up my hand, "They are my family. I understand where you're coming from, but I don't know you. I would like to get to know you, but I want to stay with the family that I know. Please understand."

Tears glossed over Maleficent's eyes, "I do understand, but I also want to get to know you girls. I've lost 16 years."

Lily walked up, "Then it's settled. We will take our pack to the Dark Kingdom. We can visit Maleficent or she can visit us." She then turned to me, "But what about the Evil Queen? Will she allow us to come to her lands?"

Maleficent smirked, "Don't worry about that. I'll deal with her." She looked at our Granny on the ground and then back to us, "Before I leave…" she swallowed a lump in her throat, "may I give you girls a hug? I've longed to hold you in my arms." Tears began streaming down her cheeks.

Lily and I looked at each other, nodded and then walked over to her and gave her a group hug. The woman openly sobbed in our arms as she held us tighter. Maleficent eventually left to speak with the Evil Queen about what had happened and our pack took Granny to give her a proper burial. Lily and I packed our things to prepare for the long journey south.

Present Day – Emma's Session

Emma was choked up from telling the story of her origins and her Granny's death so Dr. Rojas brought a box of tissues for her. She could tell Emma didn't know what they were so she removed one tissue and handed it to Emma as she motioned towards the girl's face. Then she understood its purpose.

This story is incredibly detailed. It's amazing. What is causing this hallucination? Emma is thoroughly convinced that this is her story. Why the fascination with Disney characters? She watched Emma and studied her mannerisms as she drank from the bottle of water that must be room temperature now. She also stared at Emma's arm which was covered by a light jacket this time. She was trying to picture what the birth mark looked like. She merely got a glimpse of it the last time they met and that was just a small area. I wonder if I could find pictures of Emma or Lily online with the mark showing. Maybe there's something about the mark that's causing these delusions. Yet Emma doesn't have delusions when she's awake.

"Are you alright, Emma? We can stop for today if you'd like or we can continue. Whatever you're most comfortable with." The doctor sat back and folded her hands in her lap so as to appear more relaxed. She hoped that Emma would wish to continue because she was now hooked on the story and wanted to find out what happened next in Emma's mind.

"I'm fine. It's just difficult to talk about because it happened just yesterday, but I know I must look forward and not backward."

"Those are wise words."

Emma smiled proudly, "My Granny had much wisdom that she passed on to us."

Dr. Rojas leaned forward, leaning on her knees with her elbows, "Emma, you've mentioned the Evil Queen a couple of times. I'd like to go back to the beginning of your story. The Charmings were concerned about a Dark Curse that would be cast in revenge, correct?" Emma nodded so she continued her question, "Did the Evil Queen ever cast her curse? I would assume no since you are about to travel to her Kingdom."

With a heavy sigh, Emma began, Oh yeah, she cast it the week after we were born. A large mushroom cloud appeared in the sky and then it was like the ground swallowed it up and a large ring of magic spread across the land, but nothing happened." The doctor nodded as she following along so Emma continued, "When I was old enough, my Granny told me more about the Evil Queen and said that she had made a mistake when casting the curse and it backfired and cursed the Queen herself. She's been confined to her Kingdom reliving the same day ever since. People may come and go, but are too afraid of suffering her wrath. Stories spread of people entering and never returning because of the Queen's anger."

"How do you know she's even alive then? They're just stories, aren't they?"

Emma snickered, "A fair question. The Dark One and other sorcerers have managed to come and go and have seen the Queen. They have told stories to those they employ who then spread the stories when they go out to taverns and socialize."

Dr. Rojas noticed her heart skip each time Emma mentioned the Evil Queen and she couldn't understand why. She felt a longing that she couldn't explain and would be considered inappropriate by professional standards. Why does this woman affect me so?

Emma stared at the therapist, curious as to why she seemed rattled by her story. "Are you alright?" She then reached across the table and picked up the bottle of water in front of the doctor and handed it to her to drink like she did for Emma when she became upset.

The act made the doctor smile more. "Thank you, Emma." She drank half the bottle before setting it down and taking a few deep breaths. "Your story is simply amazing. I'm so sorry for your loss. From the sound of it, you've been through a great deal."

Gripping her water bottle tighter, Emma simply nodded and stared at it.

"What will you do once you reach your destination?" The doctor was curious as to the direction of Emma's delusion.

Emma's features hardened and looked right into the doctor's eyes, "I'm gonna make those responsible for my Granny's death pay. I will find all those involved in the ritual on the day that Lily and I were born and I will kill them."

The doctor stared at Emma in shock and was waiting to see if the blonde's eyes would start glowing or if magic would begin rising from her skin. What am I thinking? Of course, those things won't happen. Now I'm the one that needs therapy.

When the doctor noticed the time on the clock on the wall, she realized they had run over on their session. She snapped her fingers and Emma fell into her sleep. Dr. Rojas stood up and began pacing around the room while rubbing her head. Think. Think. What's the connection between Emma's muted current state and these stories? Ruby and Lily are her sisters in real life. Outside of that though, there's nothing! The time of this story doesn't match up with the time of her rape. The details aren't even close.

Dr. Rojas stopped pacing and looked down at Emma lying on the couch. "I'm going to try something." She walked around and remained standing, now facing Emma on the couch. "Emma, I want you to think of a time when you were 18 years of age and were happy. Find that happy place. Picture the surroundings. What do you see? Who is there? When I count to 3, I want you to wake up and be that 18-year-old girl. 1…2…3"

Emma's eyes opened and she looked up. When their eyes met, Emma shot up off the couch and pulled the doctor into a hug. "Regina! You're back! I've missed you so much, my Love." Emma stood back and cupped the doctor's face while staring lovingly into her eyes." Dr. Rojas was speechless. Emma noticed the concerned look, "What's wrong, Gina? Did something happen? Was it those Charmings again? What did they do? I'll kill 'em.", she growled out in a low voice. The doctor remained frozen in shock and Emma moved forward and cupped the doctor's face in both hands. "What is it? You're scaring me."

She stared at those emerald green eyes which looked into hers as if she was their world. No one had ever looked at her like this. She was slowly sinking further into their deep gaze. Just as Emma was leaning in to obviously kiss her on the lips, the doctor snapped her fingers and Emma collapsed unconscious. Dr. Rojas was able to catch her and push her back so that she'd fall onto the couch and avoid injury. The doctor pushed herself off of Emma's body and touched her own cheek still feeling a tingling effect from where Emma had touched her face.

Inexplicably, tears began to fall and she wiped her face in frustration. What is going on? Why am I crying? She stared at Emma, and who is Regina?

"Who are you, Emma Swan?"