Darkest Before the Dawn: 04
Author: t8kmybreathaway
Title: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Swan/Queen
Rating: M
Summary: Emma finds a strange book that doesn't belong to anyone she knows, nor does it seem to exist anywhere. She takes it home and on the eve of her 28th birthday her and her son are both sucked into the world it depicts.
Background: The Curse as we know it does not exist. Instead, what happened was everyone got amnesia and knows nothing about the Evil Queen or Emma, except for Pinocchio who was sent into this world with her. Twenty eight years have passed in the enchanted forest and everyone has aged except Regina and her father. She is frozen in time Regina's father is King.
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
A/N: This is going to be a fairly new experience for me. I have never gone far into the realm of fantasy before. Please review it will make me want to write more and update sooner.
SOOOO... I know it's been since like June or July buuuut, I hope you are all still interested! I had and still have a lot going on but I had a strike of inspiration with the new season. Sorry it took me so long, I am also working on some other stories and updates so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks again to everyone following and favoriting!
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"What in the Goddess' name were you thinking?" Alice yelled at Emma while pacing the floor of the throne room. The Queen simply sat with her head propped up with her elbow. "He could have tricked you in to setting him free! Do you know how dangerous he is?" she shrieked. "He is not to be talked to, not to be dealt with!"
Emma cringed, she knew Alice was right. "I didn't know!" Emma said defensively. "It's not like you ever told me that any part of the castle was off limits! There wasn't a sign!"
"What? The darkening corridor wasn't a hint for you?" Alice shouted.
The Queen held her hand up. "Enough, Alice," she sighed. "You are not to go near that hallway again. The south tower is off limits to everyone, myself included," the Queen conceded. "And for good reason, he is not to be taken lightly my dear, Emma. The man is a monster, willing to bargain for anything so long as he benefits from it. I doubt even I could refuse a deal from that creature should my heart desire it and he would know if it did and present it in the best light possible to trick you into doing what he wants. No good will come of his deals. You must promise not to see him again."
"I promise, your majesty," Emma flushed and bowed reply to show her apologetic nature.
"Now that we have discussed your transgression and deemed that it will not happen again, I have two things for you," the White Queen said with excitement.
She looked to Alice and her champion nodded before handing her majesty a parcel. "My Queen," Alice bowed deeply.
The White Queen took it with a smile and stood from her throne. "This came into my possession as a gift from the Queen of Crispin. For what I do not remember," she said with a brief flitter of confusion. "I wish to give it to you, I believe you to be in more need of it than I."
Emma stepped forward gazing upon the Queen's face. A smile adorned the beautiful porcelain skin. "Thank you, your majesty," Emma accepted the parcel.
"Now, Alice has informed me that she no longer has anything to teach you," the White Queen said.
"Except maybe to not snoop around one's castle," the other blonde commented in a low whisper.
If the Queen heard it, it did not show on her face. "She said you would benefit from learning another form of weaponry. Perhaps a bow?" the Queen suggested.
"Whatever you wish to teach me, I will gladly learn to the fullest of my ability, your majesty," Emma replied.
"It is settled then, Nivins will begin your lessons tomorrow, I shall inform him immediately. As for your bow, please see the weapons master, he will craft it for you from the finest material available," the Queen said and then dismissed Emma.
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Emma sat on her bed with a soft sigh. She was barely able to wrap her head around having parent much less parents that were fairy tale characters out of a children's book. "I have parents..." she whispered to herself disbelievingly. Her entire life all she wanted was to know her parents, to know she wasn't alone in the world. And now she knew, but they would not remember her, would not know her or Henry. The thought made her sad and all the more determined.
She tore through the wrapping of her parcel from the right end until the paper sack fell to the ground with a soft whooshing sound. A dark forest green fabric was left in her hands. It was silky to the touch on one side and velvety on the other. She shook it out to full length as she stood revealing a long cloak. She gasped as her eyes roamed over the expensive fine fabric with intricate golden inlays that seemed to glow at her touch.
She turned it around and flung it around her shoulders with a practiced ease. It fit perfectly as she held it in place by the lapels of the hood. She felt along the lapels for a clip of some sort to secure it around her neck, once she did she noticed her appearance changed. Her hair became longer and the blonde hair dye simply disappeared leaving a darker auburn color in its wake. When she pulled the cloak off, much to her amazement, her appearance remained the same. "Maybe it is what I would have looked like had I grown up in fairy tale land?" she thought out loud with wonderment tinting her voice.
"You're correct," she heard and turned around to see Alice in her doorway. "But it is not the cloak that has changed your appearance," she added.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked puzzled.
Alice pushed off the doorway and entered Emma's chambers. "You've accepted who you are and where you came from." Emma slowly nodded trying to figure out how growing up here would have made a difference in her appearance but decided not to dwell on it because it made her head hurt. She pulled her hair back and tied it. "It's not a bad look on you," Alice finished. "I'm sorry for yelling, he's just a very dangerous creature."
Emma nodded. "I understand and I knew who he was after I started talking with him. I know of his deals from stories, obviously not the very worst of them but I knew to make sure that whatever deal I made would not be to his benefit."
"Good, but please, do not speak to him again," Alice asked.
"I won't," Emma replied and took the cloak off. She folded it gently and placed it on her bed. "Who is the Queen of Crispin?" she asked the blonde.
"Snow White," Alice replied. The breath left Emma's lungs in a whoosh, her eyes widening. She placed her hand over her heart as it beat wildly against her chest and her step faltered. Alice went to her and held her steady. "Are you alright?"
Emma looked up at the blonde and shook her head. "Snow White is my mother," she said softly.
Alice took two steps back shaking her head. "Princess," she said and bowed deeply.
Emma shook her head. "I assure you I am no princess," she said. "I only found out a short while ago, Rumpelstiltskin told me when I made a deal with him…"
"You must go to them after you have saved your son, they will help you," Alice said.
Emma shook her head demurely, "He said they would not remember me."
"Why?"
"I don't know," Emma shrugged sadly and sat on her bed. "Would you leave please? I'd like to be alone." The blonde nodded knowing that the brunette needed some time alone. Emma sat there for a while then she laid back into the plush pillows on her bed and stared at the ceiling as fresh tears trekked down her face.
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After she woke up the next morning and had breakfast with the Queen, she made her way to the armory. The door was already open so she wandered inside and looked around. Her eyes scanned the walls as her feet lead her around the room. Something gleaming in the morning light caught her attention. She went to it as if inexplicably drawn towards the weapon. She couldn't explain it; she just felt such a magnetic pull.
Coming upon the center table Emma ran her finger tips delicately across the intricate gold and silver leaf design that was inlaid along the back of the mahogany bow. It matched the design on her mother's cloak perfectly. Along the upper and lower limbs was an additional limb that went half the distance to each nock. The string was pulled through each nock and tied off at each of the smaller limb tips along the back of the bow. The quiver and arrows were of similar design with accents of dark brown and green. The entire set was unbelievably exquisite.
She lifted the bow with both hands shocked it was so light. It barely weighed anything at all. "It's made of the finest and lightest wood in all the land," the husky male voice startled her. "My apologies, I am Sir Thomas, the weapons master. When the Queen told me of your cloak I took it upon myself to make these for you. I do hope it pleases you," he said.
Emma nodded. "They're beautiful, thank you," she smiled and looked down to examine them more.
"Well, go on," he encouraged. "Pick it up. Get a feel for her so that you may familiarize yourself with how she feels. She will be of great use to you in your trials," he spoke cryptically.
"Trials?" she questioned but when she went to look for him he was no longer standing where he had appeared. She sighed but picked up her things just the same. She'd certainly have to get used to the weightlessness of her bow, it was much lighter than her swords.
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Nivins was already waiting for her outside when she arrived on the archery green. Targets were set up at different intervals and heights. The rabbit was tapping his foot impatiently. "You're late," he said irritated.
Emma shrugged with a small smile playing on her lips. She really did it just to mess with him. "It was just a minute, Whitey, calm down," she smirked.
His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened then he simply glared at her. He noticed her things and huffed. "You will practice with these," he said kick a quiver towards her. "They are blunt practice arrows," he explained. "In case you hit anyone," he added. Emma glared at him but picked up the practice arrows and followed. "Now, first you must learn stance and aim," he instructed hopping up onto a bale of hay.
"Okay, so how should I stand?"
"Which hand is your strong hand?" he asked.
"My right," Emma replied.
"Then, you will hold the bow with your left and pull back on the string with your right. But before you do that you will need two more pieces of equipment," he said and pointed to the gloves. They were a dark brown leather, fingerless, and stopped at her wrists. "The Queen had them shortened," he said. "She thought you would appreciate if they were easy to get on and off. Now, on they go," he instructed.
Emma slipped them on and flexed her hands. "Okay," she said.
"Good, now stand with your left half of your body facing the target and hold the bow steady. With your right hand draw up an arrow and notch it against the string." Emma looked confused as she tried to figure out how to notch the arrow. When Nivins finally did it for her she glared at him. "You were taking too long," he replied.
"Whatever, what's next?"
"Pull back on the string holding the arrow loosely with your right first and second fingers, keep your hand level and steady as you pull back, hold your palm against your cheek, stopping when your fingers are just beyond your nose." She did as instructed. "Now, let go," he said. When she did the arrow whizzed through the air and skid off the target thudding against a nearby tree. "Not bad, again," he commanded.
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Emma sighed as she trudged to the archery green. Nivins was already waiting. "You're shooting multiple arrows this session. Gear up," he commanded and hopped up onto the hay bale.
Emma nodded and pulled her gloves on quickly before taking the practice arrows out and readying them. "What are my targets today?" she asked.
"Those," Nivins pointed to the spoons lined up on a branch a good hundred paces out.
"Are you insane?" she asked. "I've done long range but you want me to hit more than one?"
"Yes," he said. "Now, begin."
Emma sighed and shook her head. She readied her bow and set up the arrows. She stacked three and lifted the bow tilting it on its side. A few seconds later Emma released the string and two of the three spoons fell. She looked back to Nivins and shook her head. "No way…"
"As much as it pains me to say it, you have a natural gift. Your abilities with the short swords, daggers, and bow all point to you being an excellent ranger. I would think your tracking skills are very good as well. I've set up a rather extensive amount of targets around the green. Why don't you practice some more and see how many you can hit with one shot and then at the end we shall have a competition judged by the Queen."
"You're on," she smirked.
An hour later Nivins and her were standing side by side; Alice and the Queen were several paces off to their left by a large tree. "Very well, let us get started. Points will be allotted by style and completion. Your first task is to shot a target at fifty paces, closest gets the allotted points."
"How do we get points for style for something like that?" Emma asked.
"Oh, be creative," Alice smiled.
Emma rolled her eyes and turned to the target. "By all means, ladies first," Nivins said. She nodded and took aim with her bow a few seconds later she released the string and arrow. It landed just outside the very center of the target and she smiled as she turned back to the rabbit. "Very nice shot," he said before stepping up to the mark they set. "But watch how it's done," he smirked. He started bouncing up and down on one foot as he took aim and let his arrow go. It hit the back of hers and split it down the center.
"Sorry Emma, but Nivins took the first round," the Queen said.
"Be more creative," Alice said under her breath as they moved on to the next part of the course.
"This time, you are required to split the apple, perfectly down the center. Each of you has two shots," she said.
"Well, Nivins since I went first last time, why don't you take the honors this time," she said.
He smirked and shook his head but went first anyway. His shot was perfect, he did the exact same thing he had the first time, bouncing up and down but this time on the other leg. She looked around as she stepped up to the mark. What could she use or do, that was different and would earn her more points she wondered. She bit her lip and then it hit her, she held up her hand briefly and walked under the tree where the apples were set on top of the branches. No branches were obstructing her view from the sky. She walked backwards back to the mark and took aim. She took a deep breath and then pointed her arrow up in the sky counting to five before letting it go.
After the audible twang she looked back to the apple and waited and waited and waited. Nivins started tapping his foot. "She obviously over shot it," he said.
"Let us just wait a moment more," the Queen said with a smile. Then a loud splitting sound of the apple being de-cored caught their attention. Emma's arrow had pierced it completely down the center from above. "Well done Emma, you won this round," she announced.
They moved on to another area. "This is it," Alice said. "The last round, whoever can hit the most targets wins," she handed Nivins a quiver of red arrows with a big white ball on the end with a red powder while Emma's were blue. "On the Queen's mark," she said.
"You may begin," the Queen stated.
Suddenly animals and servants were running about wildly, ducking in and out of cover. Emma caught on pretty quickly and started to shot rapidly one right after the other almost never missing. She paid no attention to Nivins until she saw him hop off towards the chaos the crow in the middle of the field. She wasn't going to let him win. She rushed in after him grabbing an arrow from her quiver smacking each person or animal she passed with the powdered end of it until she was no longer near any of them and shot it. She continued like that until the whistle was blown.
She and Nivins were both out of breath and took the water offered to them by one of the servants who did not participate graciously. "Thanks," Emma said and took a large gulp. The Queen and Alice tallied up the results.
"Well it seems as if we have a tie," the Queen said after she conferred with Alice.
Emma shook her head. "No, we don't," and lifted Nivins' tail. There was a blue spot on his rear end. He tried to look over his shoulder at himself but wound up running in a circle instead.
"That's not fair!"
"Why not? No one said that you or I were not allowed to hit the other," Emma reasoned with her arms crossed and a smirk.
"Emma has won," Alice grinned. "Finally, someone has knocked you down a few notches!" she pointed to the rabbit who glared at her.
"Alice and Emma are correct, I did not specify that you could not target each other," the Queen smiled. "Well played Emma."
"Thank you, your majesty," Emma bowed.
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They were all walking inside when the Queen took Emma by the hand and led her towards the tea room. "You're ready," she said with a proud happy look.
Emma stared at her before it clicked. "I guess I am," she replied and sat down in one of the leather backed chairs.
The Queen sat across from her. "You look sad," she observed.
Emma shook her head. "I'm a terrible mother," she said softly.
The Queen forced Emma to look at her. "No you are not. You have done all of this with your son in mind, to prepare yourself for his rescue. You needed time to heal. He will forgive you."
Emma looked at her, tears forming in her eyes. "I forgot about him," she whispered. "I0I had fun today…" she looked down at her hands. "How can I be a good mother when I forgot about him and I was happy."
"You forgot because I made it so. I wanted you to be able to focus on really training and I knew after the first night when we had to give you medicine to just sleep that we would need to use it again so that you would not be distracted."
"You made me forget him?" Emma asked.
"It was necessary, but now it is beginning to wear off and you are remembering what you have to do and why, the difference now is that you are ready to take on the Red Queen's forces."
"Thank you, I appreciate all you've taught me."
"You are welcome. Now is there anything that I can get for you for your journey? I am assuming you will want to get started immediately." Emma nodded and rattled off a list of things she could think of offhand that she might need.