When Emma Enters Fairytale Land

Chapter 1: When You Love Someone

The Charmings

Emma closed her eyes when she passed through the entrance that lit the way from the Storybrooke mine into Fairytale Land. She could feel her warmth coming to her body the coldness of the mine fading fast. Emma heard her father let out an excited gasp and she knew they had made it home safely. Emma kept her eyes shut even when her father had dropped her hand and walked a head of her.

"It's even better than I remember," James whispered to his daughter, astonished that his home hadn't changed at all in the last 28 years since he had left it. James was so engrossed in reacquainting himself with just the edge of Fairytale Land he had not realized Emma was still behind him, frozen. The sight of her here made James fill with happiness. He couldn't believe how perfectly she fit here, the soft wind in hair, blowing her dress around her, the birds more attentive to her presence than any other soul around.

After another second of watching her, however, James noticed how uncomfortable she looked. While his daughter fit here physically, he could tell something was wrong. "Is everything okay, Emma?" He asked softly.

Emma shifted in her new shoes that had somehow appeared on her feet. She looked up at the birds leaning out of a nearby branch towards her, wondering if suddenly understanding them was causing the massive headache that had started since entering Fairytale Land. "Yeah," she lied. "Everything's fine."

James walked closer to his daughter. While he didn't know her well, he knew something was off. He watched her open her eyes and scan the woods and the meadow for something that clearly wasn't there. When James was close enough to Emma, he filled her peripheral vision and forced her to look at him, he said, "Everything clearly not okay. What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Nothing," Emma answered automatically. So preoccupied with her search, Emma didn't notice the first time her father used a pet name for her.

"Emma," James said softly while still demanding her attention. "What are you looking for?"

"Mom and Henry." Emma's words smoothly came out her mouth. She wondered if excluding the third person she was looking for counted as a lie.

"Oh!" James turned half-circle so his back was now in her face. Emma smiled slightly and sidestepped around him so they were now shoulder to shoulder. "No."

Emma sharply turned to look at her father. "What did that mean? 'No' as in you forgot to look for them and assumed they were right ahead of us or 'no' as in they are in big trouble?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"Shouldn't they be right ahead of us?" James offered.

"Well where else could they be?" Emma rushed her words. "To my knowledge that passage way," she pointed behind her, "only comes out here. This is where it brought me to last time I came here. Do you think it brings different people to different places?"

"I don't know," James said again, mystified. He started to get lost in his search for his family just like Emma had done moments before.

"Okay," Emma said with a firm, annoyed voice. "Magic is new to me – I'm allowed to not know. You, on the other hand," she pointed at her father's chest, "Aren't."

James crossed his arms at Emma's assumption. He tried to stare her down. When that didn't work and it was clear she needed an explanation he spoke. "Emma, I am not a magic expert. Fairytale creatures live in this land with magic, they don't understand it." James saw the disbelief on Emma's face. "Do you understand how everything works in Storybrooke?"

The look on Emma's face told James his analogy did not work.

"…Or outside of Storybrooke?"

Emma's annoyance grew with his answer. "So you can create magic, but you don't understand how to use it – or even what it is."

James' hands moved in out front of him, as if searching for an answer he didn't have. "I guess. I wish I did know. I do know the only creatures who truly know how to use magic and understand it are the fairies."

"Great! So what are the chances that we'll run into a fairy in these woods?"

"Well, it's not likely we'll run into a fairy," James told her as she lifted her arms up and let them fall in frustration. Emma started to go faster and further into the woods, searching for the rest of her family. Soon, her father ran to catch up. "But," he said grasping at straws. "If we wait until nightfall, we can wish on a star and a fairy will come." His words forced Emma to turn to see if he was serious. James then added, "Hopefully," under his breath.

"That cliché is actually true?"

James smiled warmly at his daughter. "Welcome to Fairytale Land."

Emma returned her father's smiled. Still, worried about her son and her mother caused her to look away from him – searching for any sign of her other family members. When Emma had searched the 360 degrees around her, she looked up and noticed the sun for the first time straight above her. She stopped moving to stare at the sun long enough for James to notice.

"You know," he said with a smile. "Even in Fairytale Land starring at the sun for too long can damage your eyesight."

Emma pointed up. "The sun's straight above us."

James smiled at Emma's obvious observation. "Yes, it is."

She brought her finger down, crossed her arms, but still stared at the sun. "Does that mean it is noon in Fairytale Land just like it would be in Storybrooke?"

"Yeah…" James looked curiously at Emma. "Why?"

Emma looked straight at her father and wondered if David's personality still lingered in him. She raised her eyebrows. "So that means we have to wait, like, at least seven hours for a fairy, right?" Emma asked, hoping her father would understand.

James stood up straighter. "No, we are going to do everything we can to find them in the next seven hours," he paused. "Calling on a fairy will be our last resort."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed in apprehension. "How can you talk like that?"

"Like what?" James asked quickly.

"Like you're not worried about your wife or your grandson at all." Emma changed her posture and her voice and began to mock her father's words. "Oh, we'll just look for them in the woods until night fall and then we'll just wish on a fairy!"

James stepped closer to Emma. "I've done it before. It works." When he saw his daughter was actually frustrated, James added, "It's not like we can call the police or a missing person's hotline." James gave a moment for them to regroup. "That's the difference between Storybrooke and Fairytale Land."

James' calmness at their situation allowed Emma to relax. "Okay. Fine," she agreed to his plan. "Where do you think we should start?"

As Emma watched James searched the area, trying to recall his familiarity with the woods, another sharp pain entered her head. Her hands automatically went to source, making sure her pain was definitely internal, not external.

"I know where we are!" James stated excited when Emma turned away from him in pain. "Home is this way Emma! I'm sure your mom would have taken Henry down this path!"

Emma kept her back to him for another moment. She closed her eyes, trying to let the pain pass through her before turning to face her father.

"Okay. Let's go," Emma decided she was ready and ran past him in the direction he was pointing.

The Beauty and the Beast

He had looked everywhere.

From the second he had passed through the mines and entered Fairytale Land his mission was set.

Now that he knew the queen had seized her - her dungeons were the first place he looked.

But she was nowhere.

Disappearing and reappearing in every possible place he thought she could be, he looked for her for hours. Soon, he realized the characters that had not entered through the mines had somehow passed through to Fairytale Land so they were in the exact positions they were in when the curse hit.

But she was nowhere.

Author's Note: It's so good to be back! Thank you for coming back, readers, and allowing me some break time. If you are little lost content wise, please check out this story's prequel When Emma Leaves Storybrooke. Big Thanks to OncerSwarekJateBazeGirlscout, Lady Blade WarAngel, HarrylovesGinny09, Likaella, Aod4L, and Lola. Likaella –Thanks for your feedback – I do think creating a strong, positive relationship between James and Emma is important. Stay Tuned!