The Swan Princess

Prison

The only sensation the Queen and Ducky could feel was the emptiness of the castle. It was like a piece of themselves had gone missing, a hole in their hearts that could only be filled by the special princess. Emma's endearing giggles were replaced by a deafening silence and the graceful element which she brought to the kingdom was now nonexistent. Even the black swans were emotionless and had no motivation to swim now that their princess was gone.

The only thing that ran through Ducky's mind was a deep desire to see her mom. It was the first time she started to feel that Emma was her mother. The love that the princess offered Ducky was more than a friendship. It was beyond understanding. Motherhood.

Days had passed and Ducky watched as the Queen searched for Emma every day and night. When the Queen thought Ducky was not looking or listening, she would cry until the sun rose. Ducky knew that she should hate Regina for what she did, but she could not help but feel that even she had something to do with the death of her swan.

The Queen would wake everyday in a panic as she searched franticly for Emma, only to remember that her precious little swan was no longer in her life. All she wanted was Emma to come back. As the days and weeks continued to pass, she would cry every night to sleep holding on to the only piece that was left of Emma, Ducky. Some nights, the Queen would hide from Ducky as she slept and would vanish in a cloud of smoke to visit her Emma.

She would sit and talk to the lifeless body that was now in the possession of Red and Snow White. The swan princess lied in a glass coffin, much like the one her mother resided in when she was trapped in the sleeping curse. As more weeks passed, the appearance of the lifeless body started to change, eventually losing the resemblance of the old Emma that Regina once knew. The Emma she saw through that glass coffin was ghastly pale. Her once emerald-green eyes seemed to lack their characteristic brightness, replaced a dull silvery glow. Her hair became whiter with each passing day and her pink lips turned blood red. The only feathers remaining on her body were black as charcoal. And as the Queen saw the changes happen, she knew that Emma was finally becoming the dark one.

"My Emma," the Evil Queen muttered under her breath, "Sorry, I did not visit you last night. Your daughter is quite stubborn when it comes to eating."

Regina told Emma everything that happened throughout the day. After the incident at the ball, Regina wanted to make sure that Emma knew what was happening in her daughter's life, even though there was a possibility that she couldn't hear her.

"Well, I must go. Wish me luck with your Ducky. Please, Emma, return to me," she cried as she vanished in a cloud of smoke.

After Regina returned to her castle, she saw Ducky walking towards the garden where all the black swans dwelled. Ducky did not talk much and hardly ate these days. After what happened to her mother, she could barely think. Regina followed her and watched as Ducky sat where Emma once used to sing.

"I miss her too you know," Regina said quietly as she looked far into the lake where the dear swan used to swim.

"Not as much as I, your Majesty." Ducky looked at Regina and thought about how she was going to bring up the thoughts that clouded her mind on the nights she waited for Regina to come back to the castle.

"Indeed."

Regina kept looking at the far lake until Ducky caught her attention by speaking words that surprised her to no end. "I want to see my mom. I know that you have been visiting her and I want to come too. Perhaps you could do something for me."

"Like what?" Regina asked.

"You'll find out when you take me to see my mom," Ducky replied.

"When do you want to go?" Regina questioned curiously.

"Now, this can't wait," Ducky responded matter-of-factly.

"Alright."

Ducky could not control the happiness that welled inside of her. Perhaps she could wake her mom from the prison she was trapped in.