Okay, so…this is my first ever try at fan fiction of any kind, so please be gentle :) Feedback is greatly appreciated. Hope I don't disappoint. Thanks for reading.

A/N – Swan Queen AU. The Princess meets a beauty during the Yule Ball. What does she want and why is her mother so eager to punish?

Pairing: the Evil Queen/Regina & Emma S.

Category: Romance/Mystery

This unexpected stranger was indeed a fae-like creature, the Princess thought. As she swished through the throng of people, her movements were graceful, but precise, and painfully beautiful. Her deep-brown eyes twinkled with mirth when they locked with the persistant stare of the Princess.

The Princess, for her part, saw everything that happened next in a kind of slow motion. Her parents' guard hurtled towards the raven-haired beauty, shackling her with heavy chains within seconds. Where Emma expected anger, or even fear, she encountered only a tiny pout of ful ruby-red lips and an upward curl of a cheeky smile.

''Take her to the dungeons!''

As she heard her mother's voice, a ball of fury curled in her stomach, and she couldn't explain it away. She just stood there, mute, as she watched the guards – ''all brawn and no brain'' – as she liked to call them, push this wonderful creature so roughly, without a care in the world as to what harm they might be causing. It made her want to scream at them, for once, just once, wield the power which comes with being of a royal bloodline, and make them set her free.

As if reading her mind, she saw the long, jet-black hair and its owner turn to her with a most serene, soothing look on her flawless, olive-toned face. The beauty shook her head and once again submitted her body to the cruel ministerings of her jailors.

The Princess felt an unquenchable urge to run to her room and hide. As she pondered this option, she felt a slight tug at her elbow. As she looked down, she saw her five-year-old son, a question in his eyes. She bent down to scoop him in her arms.

''What is it, my darling?''

''Momma, why did the men take the pretty lady away? She did nothing wrong.''

The Princess looked back at her child and realized she had made a decision.

''I don't know, sweetheart. But I will do everything in my power to help her.''

As the woman's eyes began adjusting to the darkness, she realized the predicament she was in. She knew she had gotten herself right where she wanted to be, but that didn't prevent her fear of confined spaces. She felt her way through the dark, and her hands finally found a wall, she slid down against it, more than slightly grateful for the matress she encountered at the end of that quest, lumpy though the wretched thing was.

Night had fallen, and a few strips of pale moonlight made themselves known. Slowly she guided her steps towards the bars of the small cell window with a view of absolutely nothing but the stars.

She let out a relieved sigh. The night and its powers were all this woman needed. She could already feel her dwindling strenght returning full force, and the purple magic coursed through her veins, straight to her very core. If she so wished, she could have easily morphed into a butterfly and escaped, never to be seen again. But, that's not where her soul's desire lay. It remained still, and forever, with the one person in the entire castle, the one person in the entire kingdom who held her heart in the palm of his tiny hand. Her son, the five-year-old Prince Henry.