"Run, baby."

These words played over and over again as Emma ran. She hated running. This place finally felt like home, and she had to run again. Emma mostly hated the fact that she had to run while her mom stayed behind. It was a cowardly, weak thing to do. Twenty minutes into running Emma couldn't take it anymore. She had to go back for her mom. Turning around, she sprinted back in the direction she'd just come from.

Just as she reached the edge of her neighbourhood, a brunette woman carrying a rather large bag ran at her. "You're going the wrong way. The entire block is on fire. Run the other way!"

Emma ignored her, doubling her efforts to get back to Ingrid.

"Wait! Are you Emma?"

"There's over a million Emma's in the world, lady. It's possible."

Turning her back on the woman again, Emma tried to make her way through the neighbourhood only to find herself kissing pavement. It took a few seconds to reorient herself. Emma could feel her knees were bleeding through the new holes in her jeans. Her ribs ached. "What the hell!"

Belle honestly felt bad for hurting the girl, but it didn't seem like Emma would go with her willingly. Regina had told her to do whatever was necessary to get her to the castle. "Sorry, but we must go."

Emma balked as the woman dropped a bean on the ground and the street opened up into a giant hole. She and the woman were dropped unceremoniously in the middle of the forest. She beat the woman to her feet and used her magic to immobilize the woman. "Who are you and where did you just take me?"

"I, I'm Belle. We're back home in the Enchanted Forest."

Emma was furious. She stormed up, just an inch from the woman's face, arms flailing. "This isn't my home! My home is with my mom back in Minnesota. What did you do? Take me back."

Belle tried to struggle but it got her nowhere. "I can't. I've orders to take you to the castle."

"No! I'm never going back to another castle. I'm not a prisoner anymore."

Emma ran. She didn't know what else to do. There was no way she'd ever go back to the White castle. She'd rather die than be locked in the tower again. Ingrid didn't cover lessons extensively on the Enchanted Forest, never thinking there'd be future need, but Emma knew that to get to Arendelle all she had to do was keep running north west until she came to a frost line. She'd be safe in her mother's kingdom.

A guard greeted Belle at the wall of the castle. "Did you get the Princess?"

"I did, but she ran away into the forest. The queen failed to mention she has magic. I wasn't prepared."

"I'll send some men out to find her. Have Graham put the other wolves on alert to stay away from the girl if they come across her."

It had been so long since Emma had last been in the Enchanted Forest, and it had been night the last time. It looked completely different, and she had no idea where she was running or how long before she stepped in a trap.

"Mother fucker! Oh gods!" Emma instantly collapsed on the ground as the searing pain of metal teeth pierced her calf. The damn thing wouldn't budge with magic or by Emma trying to rip it off.

The guards from both the White Castle and the Perigean Palace were alerted instantly that one of the traps had been sprung. It was a battle of horses and the guards raced to see who'd get there first. In a last ditch effort, Emma called on all her magic to hide herself. Only the closed trap was visible, and when the White knights circled the area and determined nothing seemed to be there, they reset the trap.

Emma waited until she felt her former mother's knights truly left before crawling across the forest floor. She was unaware of the wolves hidden in the forest, following her smell a great distance behind. Hazel eyes tracked the trail of fresh blood and the distinct rustling of the forest floor. Emma used the last of bit her magic to send herself into a cave at the edge of the woods she'd seen.

"Go get her, but do not harm her. The Queen will have your heads if she's further injured." Graham paced, upset he'd lost the princess temporarily. Getting one of those vicious traps closed around her leg had to be excruciating. He couldn't imagine the pain Emma would be in, or what horrible punishment they'd all be in for letting her get hurt.

The wolves came back and led Graham and the other Dark Knights to Maleficent's cave. The dragon didn't really frequent it anymore once her egg had hatched empty, but that didn't stop them all from thinking twice before entering.

"There's no one here, Captain. The cave is completely empty."

"Search again, Drake. The princess has magic. She can hide herself."

Graham watched as one of the older female wolves circled a spot, sniffing heavily, before curling up around what seemed to be an air pocket. Pulling the fairy dust vial from his pocket, Graham blew it over the area revealing a bloodied and bruised blonde teenager.

"What do we do with her? Her leg, there's no way she can walk."

The knights stood around uselessly in a huddle all staring at the White princess. Some looked mildly interested. Some looked bored. Others still looked genuinely unimpressed that this was their Queen's happiness.

Graham blew some more dust, hoping it would keep the princess asleep while he transported her. Emma's clothes were torn. She had cuts and scrapes from climbing over rocks on the forest floor. Her leg was losing a lot of blood. She needed to be taken to the palace immediately. He scooped her up, surprised at how light she was, before ordering them all to follow back to the palace.

Emma awoke mid walk, delirious from loss of blood, sleep, and drained magic. She thought she saw a scruffy man carrying her. "Who are you? Where are you taking me?"

"You're dreaming, Princess. Go back to sleep." The slurred speech concerned Graham, and he made haste to move as quickly as possible without jarring Emma awake again.

Graham was almost at the castle gate when Emma woke up. Emma instantly started to fight him. Elbows, fists, knees, and feet connected all over Graham's body until he dropped her. Glowing green eyes stared at him as Emma lost herself to her wolf's control. He looked to the other wolves around for help, but they all whimpered and cowered, running away to leave him and a few guards.

Emma wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but there was no way she was setting foot in a castle again without a fight. There were only a handful of guards around, most the wolves fleeing when her inner beast took over. Baring her teeth, she waited to see which idiot made the first move.

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Regina was worried. She was trying to secure an ally in Arendelle when news had gotten to her of Emma's arrival. It wouldn't take but another day to secure so she'd sent Red to greet her, but something felt completely wrong. When immense pain shot through her, Regina knew she had to go. Elsa wasn't pleased, but there would be potential for this deal another time.

"Stay. We're almost done, and then you can run along to your latest playmate."

"Elsa, watch yourself. The Savior is back. I trust my staff, but I don't trust them with her. I must go. I'll return once I've visited Emma personally."

A white blonde brow rose. "You managed to bring back the girl who is supposed to save magic? I wouldn't trust her with my staff either. I'm sure her mother will be trying to secure her soon. Go then. Be back when you've assessed her safety. I would like to think that this alliance is as important to you as it is to me."

"Very much so. I shall be back once I know the princess is safe."

Elsa watched Regina disappear in a cloud of purple smoke. She had grown quite close to the queen of Luna Mare. Regina had gone from a well feared queen to someone akin to a lost puppy to those who knew her well. She'd spent years researching Emma's prophecies and how she could help once the princess returned to this realm. No one, maybe aside from Maleficent, knew how much stress Regina put herself under berating herself and trying to be the best possible person for when the girl returned. Others still faced Regina's rath often, and the woman was still feared, but a handful knew how much she'd changed. Elsa just hoped the girl gave her another chance.

Regina knew she couldn't really access her magic much in the frozen state of Arendelle, but she could still transport to Rocinante who would take her to through the forest. Once she crossed the border she'd be able to poof them both home. Her treaty with Elsa was so important to help spread magical abilities between kingdoms. She'd wanted to get it done before Emma made it back, but time had gotten away from her. She'd been consumed with learning everything she could of the possible futures for Emma and all her prophecies. When her guards had finally told her they located Emma, she'd been scrambling to make her alliances and try to make the Enchanted Forest into the best possible for Emma. Elsa was one of her last alliances needed to secure a realm of nearly free magic use so her princess could feel safe.

As Regina finally made it across the border she felt Emma's pain and panic. Not wasting anymore time, she poofed herself and Rocinante home.

"Marco, take care of Rocinante. Full bath and a few apples. He will be needed in a few days to make the journey again."

Guards parted as she walked to the front entrance of her castle. It struck her as odd that none of her staff would look her in the eye. Sure most of them feared her wrath, but they'd never gone out of their way to avoid her. "BELLE!"

It took a few moments before the bookworm appeared. The girl had been most helpful in her research regarding Emma. It was just an added bonus that she helped tame Ruby's wolf. She'd never seen Belle this nervous in all the years she'd known her. Surely this couldn't be good.

"Yes?"

"Where is my princess?"

Belle bit her lower lip and wrung her hands together. She knew her queen wasn't going to like the answer. They'd been given direct orders not to let Emma escape or wander alone, but there was nothing they could do to contain the violent, magical girl. Tasha had found her. When the wolves and the guards attempted to bring her back to the castle, Emma's wolf seemed to take over Emma's mind, and she'd lashed out nearly killing several before they'd contained her. Graham lost his hold on her again, and now she was gone.

"Belle, I won't ask again. Where is my princess? What happened?"

Graham emerged, hobbling and holding his bandaged ribs. He'd been alerted Regina crossed the border, and it'd taken him nearly an hour to walk from the infirmary to the entrance. He couldn't let anyone else face the queen's wrath because of his failure. "Your majesty, if I may?"

Regina eyed the seemingly severely wounded Huntsman. "What's wrong with you? Is Emma alright?"

"Patience asked to hear me out before you react, Your Majesty."

Sighing, Regina nodded. This definitely wasn't good. She sent out her magic in search of her Emma while Graham spoke.

"Belle was successful in bringing the princess here. The girl was extremely uncooperative and frightened though and ran off into the woods before we could bring her to the castle. She got caught in one of Snow's traps. Her leg is pretty badly inured. Our guards and the wolves did manage to locate her though. Clever girl used the last of her magic reserve at the time to cloak herself, but the wolves tracked her down. On our attempt to secure the princess and bring her to safety, her wolf seemed to take control of her body and she attacked us. A half dozen guards and seven wolves are in the infirmary."

"Is everyone alive? Where's Emma?"

Graham and Belle looked at each other nervously, debating to share the news with the queen or not. Regina, however, had grown extremely agitated by the end of the story. Her magic wasn't locating Emma. She could feel the princess's frustration, and hearing the story didn't help her nerves any. She raised her hand towards Graham and squeezed just a little, threatening his oxygen supply.

Belle took a step forward trying to plead with the Queen. "Regina, Your Majesty, please don't! It's not his fault."

"What isn't his fault, Isabelle? Where is Emma?"

Graham took a few seconds to regain his breath. "Isaac is near death, as are Tomas and Irina. The princess seems to have no control when feeling cornered. The healer is obviously overwhelmed and is awaiting Maleficent's help."

"One more chance and I rebreak your clearly damaged ribs, Huntsman. Where is my princess?" Regina's hands curled into fists in a futile attempt to contain her anger.

"She's gone."

Regina understood the inability for simple humans to be powerless against magic, but her staff should be better trained than this. Her ire rose quickly. "Did anyone bother to tell her she's in Perigean Palace and not the White Castle?"

Graham and Belle looked at each other. It was Belle who spoke. "We were concerned about our safety. I don't believe anyone did. Is that significant?"

"You are absolutely dense for someone who reads all day. It would make all the difference in the world to the little girl who was last in this realm and trapped in her mother's castle. She thinks she's in the White Kingdom about to be held prisoner again. It would have made all the difference in the world to her. You are responsible for any deaths Emma may cause the injured then. Had you simply told her that this wasn't the White Kingdom, I'm sure the princess would have been more compliant."

Graham frowned, not understanding why it would have made a difference. "With all due respect, our armour is different. Our crests are different. The castles look nothing alike. We were in a battle for our lives. No one wants to be near her."

"Idiots. I don't know why I employ any of you if I have to do everything myself."

Regina stormed off to the entrance to the castle. The guard standing at the door to the entrance quickly disappeared after opening the door. She didn't want to be anywhere near when the queen when her anger was this high.

A few guards milled around the open square. Their eyes widened when they were frozen in place by the Queen's magic. The people milling about in the square all gathered around as more and more knights and wolves were brought into the middle of the square and suspended mid air by magic.

"Gather round. Don't be afraid. It's going to be quite a show." Regina gave an evil smirk and waited for the rest of her servants to assemble before tossing the incompetent guards around. Their shrieks and flailing attempts at grounding themselves thrilled her.

"What have they done, Your Majesty?" Her people were used to punishment whether it was deserved or not, but nearly all the wolves and the guards was not a usual sight.

Regina took in the awe and delight of her staff not imprisoned and her smirk grew. For all that she'd changed in twelve years, a part of her would always delight in deserved torture. "Take a good look at these incompetent morons. Huntsman, tell my staff here who arrived today."

Graham hissed and struggled as the queen's magic felt like it was landing blow after blow all over his body. Grimacing, he dared look Regina dead in the eye. "The Princess Emma."

The crowd gasped and quickly looked around trying to locate the newcomer they'd been busting their asses to make the already pristine palace even more immaculate for. Regina enjoyed the build up of anticipation. "Do continue with your information. Tell the people where the princess is." Silence stretched and she grew a little irked. "Now, Huntsman!" She squeezed a little to constrict his throat in a warning of disobeying her again.

"We, we let her run off. She's gone."

"That's right. I employ you all to protect me and this kingdom. I tasked you to devote yourselves to bringing the princess safely to the palace and keep her happy until I arrived. Is she safe Huntsman?"

"No."

"Is she happy?"

"How should I-" Regina squeezed and Graham's oxygen got cut off again. He started to struggle when the magic didn't let up. "No!"

Satisfied, Regina let the Huntsman drop to the hard ground. He crumpled in a heap, and she grinned wickedly. Him hurting curbed her anger just slightly. "That's right. The princess is out there, injured, scared, and alone. You all had such a simple job, and yet you all failed. While I go secure the princess, you get to endure the lovely beating until I return with her. The rest of you get back to work. I won't have Emma coming into a home that's less than perfect. Every stone must shine. Have her bedchamber cleaned and dressed in the finest we have. If I come back and I'm not pleased, you will all be out here on display."

Horror and shock appeared on the faces of her guards that they'd be outside day and night enduring this torture until the queen returned with her princess. It was supposed to storm soon. They'd all surely catch their death outside.

"Your majesty, the storm."

Regina quirked a brow. "The princess is out in the elements all alone with no knowledge of this land or where she is. Are you telling me that shelter is worthy of peasants and animals, but not royalty?"

The scullery maid quickly shook her head no and tried to make herself invisible lest she found herself facing the queen's wrath. Mae had been with the queen for only a few months, and she'd yet to really understand why everyone feared the queen.

Using magic, Regina changed her blood red dress into black leather riding pants, knee high black boots, and a crimson fitted riding jacket. She poofed Maleficent to her, noticing that her staff was all gaping at. "Don't you all have jobs to do?"

Maleficent watched Regina's servants quickly scatter. She raised an eyebrow to the knights and wolves suspended in air writhing in pain, but she wasn't about to question that. She had a more pressing concern. "Why am I here, Regina? Decide to go a more familiar route now that you're actually closing in on the unknown princess?"

"Must it always be sex with you? Emma is out running amuck in the forest injured. We need to find her before Snow does or something much worse. Gods only know what trouble she could get herself into. I need your help to find her."

The statement garnered Maleficent's full attention. "Injured how? Did your guards go rogue again?"

"Emma was running away and got herself stuck in one of Snow's traps. I don't know how she's running around right now. Graham used faery dust on her too. The poor girl is probably hallucinating from an overload of magic and blood loss."

"Mhmm, and how many did the powerful alpha put in the infirmary?"

Regina sighed. She was proud of Emma, but worried for her, and for her much needed staff. "Several, a few near death. They don't get to live unless Emma does, so you're coming with me."

"You cannot afford to lose them. Let me go heal them. They can always be dealt with later if Emma decides to become ogre bait."

"You have two hours and then I expect you to join me. Emma is the priority."

Maleficent pulled Regina into a hug, attempting to calm the queen. "Remember not to spook her. I'd hate to assist you later only to find you half dead. Whether she's wolf or human, there's going to be no mistaking her alpha status Respect her beast. You've a lot to atone to her for. The last thing you want to do is piss her off more."

If it were anyone but Maleficent Regina would have fireballed a person for being so bold as to tell her what to do. This was about Emma though, and no one knew more about Emma than Maleficent. Finding Belle, Regina insisted the girl show her the path Emma had taken.

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Emma had no clue where she was. She'd depleated most of her magic. Her leg was bleeding badly. The man who had been carrying her earlier had used some sort of magic that made her feel delirious. Northwest. She had to find northwest and get to Arendelle. Scouring the trees, she finally found one with moss on it to use as directional. Emma felt like she'd been walking for hours before she came to a break in the land. The only way across without using her magic was the decrepit stone bridge.

"Halt. Where do you think you're going?"

Emma froze and watched in terror as a monstrous sized beast rose from under the bridge. The inhuman male had to be at least seven feet tall with grey skin, long stringy hair, and jagged teeth. It almost looked like Frankenstein gone wrong.

"Who are you and what is your business here?"

"Just looking to cross. I need to get somewhere… somewhere else."

The beast appraised Emma, and she couldn't help but shiver in fear. There was going to be no good outcome from this and she was clearly at a disadvantage.

"Not gonna happen, little girl. We take jewels, but no one crosses."

Frowning, Emma looked around tried to figure out what to do. She'd never been a jewelry person. The only pieces she wore were necklaces her mother had given her. The only one with any sort of stone in it was the snowflake, but she wasn't giving any of them up. "What if I promise to bring you as many diamonds as you like once I reach my mother's kingdom?"

"Ha! You'll never come back. We're not stupid."

"If I make it safely to my mother's kingdom, my mother will ensure you're rewarded properly. Please."

The thing stepped closer and Emma quickly stepped backwards. "Who is your mother that you can promise such things?"

Emma frowned, unsure how the news would go over. Her mother had been missing longer than she'd been alive. "Ingrid, Queen of Arendelle. She would be most gratuitous if you helped ensure my safety to her kingdom."

"Boys, get up here!" Emma's eyes widened in panic when she noticed two more foreboding creatures emerge from under the bridge. "This girl thinks her mother is the lost queen of Arendelle. She fancies herself a princess."

The trolls laughed and moved to encircle Emma. Emma wanted to shut her eyes and call on her magic, but cutting off a sense in the middle of a battle was a sure death. Instead, green eyes narrowed and kept all three in her sight as she frantically searched her mind for possible solutions.

The tallest troll moved closer to Emma, jabbing a meaty finger against her chest hard. Emma knew it'd bruise, but at this point what was one more so long as she survived? "Royal blood is the sweetest of them all. There's not much to this sapling, but I do need a snack to tide me over."

The shortest one, nearly a head shorter than Emma went to move forward before backing up again. "There's no fun in murdering the wounded. Give her an hour and we'll find her dead without having to do the work."

"I want food now."

Emma watched the three begin to argue. She felt a familiar stirring inside her and smiled. Her wolf instincts were going to take over once again. Her healing must be doing enough for the beast to feel confident in taking charge. 'Trolls, Emma, can be taken care of by using the faery dust coating you to transform them into harmless things easy to kill.'

Listening to her wolf, Emma allowed her eyes to slip closed briefly as she focused her energy on the task. When she reopened them, the intimidating bridge trolls now resembled the troll figurines she was more familiar with; nakid with a gemmed belly, and brightly coloured crazy hair. The best part to Emma was that they were only a foot tall. The one with neon green coloured hair charged at her, fists raised. Emma didn't hesitate to haul off and kick the thing, launching it into the ravine far below the bridge. The other two wised up and scrambled for safety.

After crossing the bridge, Emma allowed her abused body to shift into her wolf. She needed a break, to heal, and she could do that much faster as a lycanthrope than as a human. It was somewhat easier to hobble around on three legs than it was on one.

The forest was just as rough as she remembered from when she was five. Sharp rocks ripped tears in her feet. Loose dirt, hidden holes, and tree branches caused her to stumble. Some animals ran from her while others chose to challenge her. Emma's wolf refused to back away from a challenge, even as injured as she was. It felt forever before Emma thought she found a safe place. Boy was she wrong.

The ground trembled and rocked, animals fled in all directions. Emma had no idea what was happening until an ogre stumbled through, ripping out trees to clear a path along the way. Emma found herself backed into a very large tree surrounded by small broken rocks. Her wolf seemed to know that an ogre tracked prey by sound, not sight, but it somehow knew she was there.

"Mmm, royal blood. Fun to kill you."

The damn thing barrelled right for Emma. She didn't have a sword to throw or a bow and arrow to shook. Her magic was still not regenerated enough to help. Frantically looking around, Emma noticed the rough edges of the rocks could be sharp enough if she had the proper angle to use it. Damn her wolf not having thumbs. It was time consuming to shift back into her human form, what little healing she'd done while traveling cancelled out. Emma grabbed the rock with the sharpest point and waited.

"No clothes. How thoughtful. I hate picking shirt from teeth."

The ogre grabbed Emma roughly, delighting in the cracking sound her ribs gave. "You smell delicious."

"What the hell is with everyone wanting to eat me? So fucked up."

When the thing leaned down to smell Emma's hair, Emma took that as her opportunity and rammed the rock straight into the grotesque eyeball. The ogre smelled like rotting garbage left in the baking sun for three weeks. It didn't release Emma though as it staggered and stumbled. Fearing she was going to be crushed, Emma bit and clawed until she was unceremoniously dropped onto the harsh rocks below. She barely scrambled out of the way as the ogre fell, it's head landing a hairsbreadth from Emma's foot.

"I'm quickly remembering how much I hated this fucking realm."

Emma tried to breathe slowly as she assessed her damage. Her leg wasn't doing well. The bottoms of her feet and palms of her hands were torn to shreds. More than a few ribs were cracked. There were aches and pains all over her body. There were deep scratches in her right arm from the ogre's fingernails. Emma was glad there were no mirrors around. She could only assume she looked like shit. Sighing, Emma saw no choice but to continue on to find a safe spot to hunker down as the sun was quickly setting. There was no way she'd survive a night in the open in this state.

Another hour and the sun was nearly set. A stream was a few feet away, but Emma wasn't sure if she should bathe at present. No sun meant no warmth. No warmth meant freezing dry. She did go for a drink though before finding a large tree that was tall enough to hide her. It had a large y base. Emma risked using the small bit of magic she'd regenerated to clothe herself and get up into the tree.

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"We've been searching for hours. Emma couldn't have made it this far without magic and injured." Belle was exhausted. They'd been walking nearly all day. All she wanted to do was go back to the castle and curl up with her own wolf.

Regina ignored the girl's whining. She was just as exhausted, but it was entirely possible Emma could have travelled the distance of the forest. They'd been following the trail of blood. She'd used magic to highlight the path so they could follow.

Maleficent joined them just after lunch, the sun high in the sky. "What'd I miss? Are you still searching? It's been three and a half hours."

"I know, but it seems my princess has more endurance than expected. So far we've seen half a dozen slaughtered chimera, a few dead snakes, and-"

"What the hell are those naked hair mops?"

Regina wasn't expecting to be interrupted, but Maleficent's outburst was odd. She had absolutely no idea what the two tiny, naked beings with neon hair were.

"They're troll dolls come to life. A troll doll is a toy in the land without magic. At least we know Emma's been here." Belle was pleased her knowledge could be helpful after she'd failed her queen so much today.

Maleficent extracted the memories from the trolls and showed Regina what happened. The two sorceresses exchanged a worried look at Emma's state before hurrying on. It was another few hours before they came across the deceased ogre. The blood drops they were following had become puddles, and it terrified Regina.

"She's in a bad way, Regina. You go on and find her. I'm going to bring Belle back with me and prepare a few potions to keep her subdued and to aid healing. Get her back as soon as possible. The poor girl must be in a lot of pain." Maleficent grabbed Belle's hand and poofed them to the castle before Belle could voice a protest.

Regina trekked on for another few hours, worried about the setting sun. She'd been following Emma's footprints, massive wolf prints, and now back to footprints. She had no idea what the girl was thinking, but the transitions certainly would have drained her energy. She neared the edge of the border of Lunar Mare and couldn't help be amazed how far Emma had traveled. Why Emma wanted to get to Arendelle she didn't know, but Regina hoped she hadn't crossed the stream to the mountain pass or she'd have to go finish her deal with Elsa before finding Emma.

Calling on her magic, Regina finished tracking Emma to the tree. It took a few minutes for her to realize Emma was far above sightline. Taking a few moments, she admired and appraised the girl curled up in the tree. Emma's whimpering brought her out of her reverie. Carefully, she brought Emma down to the forest floor with magic.

Emma felt the air change, felt foreign magic surrounding her. Green eyes snapped open, entire body alert to find chocolate coloured eyes staring down at her. The woman was smiling, her face familiar.

"Hello again, dear."