A Kingdom Divided

Chapter 3

After waking up at the first light of dawn and eating some berries for breakfast, the trio set off on their journey once more. As soon as their legs felt ready to give out and they were about ready to collapse on the ground, Red pointed ahead of them. "Look girls!" She said excitedly, picking up the pace.

"What is it?" Emma grumbled, rubbing her eyes. She had never been a morning person. Regina skipped ahead, practically bursting with energy. "A village! Emma, we found our new home!" The brunette ran back and embraced the smaller girl happily.

"We must be pretty far away from the kingdoms. I don't recognize the forest anymore." Red commented. Regina breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother would never be able to hurt her again. A fleeting thought crossed her mind of Cora turning her hand towards Zelena, but she quickly pushed the thought away. Her father would never allow that.

But she also thought her father would never allow Cora to hurt her, and look what happened. Red fell back into step with her, a troubled look on her face. "What's bothering you?" The woman asked. "Nothing." Regina lied, trying to ignore her feelings of guilt. They watched Emma run ahead of them for a few moments.

"I can sense something is off, Regina. I'm a wolf, and I'm connected with you. I'm here to talk to if you need it." Red said, trying to coax the girl. "I'm just worried about my sister is all. My mother isn't kind like Emma's, and I'm sure she's upset that I ran away." Regina confessed.

"Tell you what. My friend that I'm looking for has a special mirror. It's magical, and it gives the person using it the power to see anything that's happening in the world. When we find her I'm sure she'll let you use it. Then you can see if your sister is alright." Red said.

"Thanks." Regina smiled, feeling a lot better. "What is your friend's name that we're looking for anyway?" Emma asked, joining them. Red bit her lip, hesitating to tell them. "We're a pack, remember? We can trust each other." Regina said. "Her name is Belle. And- well, she's more than a friend. She's really special to me." Red answered.

"Is she your True Love?" Emma asked eagerly. Just because she didn't care about finding a love of her own didn't mean she wasn't excited hearing about them. "I don't know." Red chuckled, then grew serious once again. "I don't even know if she has the same feelings for me. I mean, I thought she did, but then she ran off to be with this man."

"Who?" Regina asked. "His name is Gaston. Her father forced her to marry him to keep peace within the kingdoms. When her father passed, she felt like she owed it to her father to keep her promise. So she moved away, out of the Enchanted Forest. Away from her friends... away from me."

"That's terrible." Regina sympathized with her. "It is." Red fought back tears, a sad smile on her face. "We'll help you find her, Ruby." Emma said. "Ruby?" Red looked up at the girl in confusion. "How did you come up with a name like that?"

"You look like a Ruby. You wear red, and you're pretty like one too." Emma explained. "Ruby. I like it. A good name to start over with." The brunette smiled.

Soon, the trio found a vacant cottage in the woods a little way from the village. After checking the place out, Red deemed it safe to live in. The place had all the necessities they would need to survive, along with lush green forest surrounding them with a spring nearby.

"We should go to the village and get some food and clothing." Emma said, grabbing her satchel filled with their coins. The small village was filled with people up and down the cobblestone streets. Vendors, children, men and women alike greeted each other warmly.

"Well, hello. You both must be new to our village." A young woman said to the little girls. "We are." Emma answered, eyeing the woman carefully for fear that she might be a royal servant or guard in disguise. "Would you like some fresh baked bread? You both look like you haven't eaten in days." The woman led them over to her stand, breaking a baguette in half.