Rockabye

Prologue

The only sound to be heard was her muffled breathing as she tries to fight for oxygen through whatever is stuffed inside her mouth. The fabric was a dry sharp bite against her tongue as she attempts to scream for her life.

A life they should just probably take for all my wrong doings...

She inhales sharply through her nose sending a cold sting through her nostrils. An overpowering stench of musty air consumes her, causing her to cringe in disgust. Her eyes blink rapidly begging for some sort of light, but she has been blind folded by her abductors. That's when she realizes the throbbing pain excelling by the moment from the back of her head causing her to wince.

She jerks her body forward but she's securely tied, with what feels like thick ropes digging into her flesh, pinning her to some uncomfortable chair. She screams for the umpteenth time but to no avail. One lonely tear breaks free from the brim and trickles down her heated flesh, almost evaporating instantly.

One heavy footstep stomps into her ear causing her body to stiffen and listen carefully for whomever surrounds her. Her nerves are on high alert as her senses work over time to keep her informed of what's happening around her. Something clicks off in the distance but the sound that is left behind sounds like a pendulum swinging back and forth, corresponding with every beat of her heart.

A heart that only beats for her...

"So she cries?" The man's voice taunts sounding as though he might just be standing directly in front of her. Yet, she knows she was hit awfully hard and without her sight she's unsure where this man can be lurking about. "Shall we see if she bleeds as well?"

She almost laughs at the cheerful yet distinguished sound in the man's voice. Her kidnapper doesn't sound at all what a man in his power should. She was expecting a deep bravado that sends a shudder trembling down her back, but no, he's almost sticky sweet.

"Her blood on our hands is not why we are here," a woman berates the man for his obvious stupidity and lack of self control. There's a thick silence and she swears she can feel the intensity of the two people silently arguing on her behalf. The clock ticks slowly as she waits for someone to speak again, anyone at this point. Finally, when she thinks she can no longer stand the deafening silence, the woman speaks again and pulls the material away from her dry mouth. "Where is she?"

Her tone is unnervingly calm for a person asking for someone's whereabouts. Time drifts by as she wonders who these people could be looking for. She wracks her brain over every woman she has crossed paths with in the last five years...hell, she'll even think back to the last ten years, knowing that list is awfully short.

Her mind draws blank, there is not one single woman that is worth mentioning in the last ten years. Not one, that would serve these two assholes justice for kidnapping her in a dark alley, in some strange town that she isn't even sure of how she ended up there.

"She asked you a damn question!" The man raises his voice again causing her to jump in her boots by the unexpected volume.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" She yells right back but her voice has lost all confidence and control. Instead she sounds like the prisoner that she is, desperate for a sip of water to relieve her dry, scratchy throat.

"Don't think you play the fool well, we know who you are and we demand to know where she is!" His voice booms through the cold room, bouncing off the walls and ringing violently in her ears.

"Tell us," the woman softly speaks again but the captive woman's head is already shaking vigorously.

"I don't know," she cries out again because truthfully she is perplexed by her current situation.

She's always been a lone wolf. She never had anyone by her side...well until she was five and a short time after, but for the past ten years, she's been alone. She only looks out for herself, making sure she has what she needs for her shitty life. She has been cursed since the day she was born, when she was left at some shitty orphanage.

Maybe it's time these strangers end my shitty life...

"Please stop playing games, we want her back. Tell us where she is," the woman's voice is growing in confidence and what seems like anger to the blind folded woman.

"I swear I don't know who you are talking about," she croaks out despite her throat feeling like a thousand razor blades slicing through her sensitive flesh within.

"She's the only one you knew. Don't you dare lie to me!" The woman is growing fierce as her patience wears thin, but she knew, she expected the other woman to fight. She was never one to roll over and give up so easily.

The woman's limbs are numb from being tied so tightly to the wooden chair. Every bone in her body aches, her muscles are screaming exhaustion and her head feels as though it may explode at any moment. She's slowly giving up, she cannot possibly deliver what these kidnappers are seeking.

"I don't know," she mutters in defeat as her head hangs low, finally accepting her fate.

Something ice cold presses into her temples before her blind fold is removed. She squints to adjust to the light even though it's hardly even shining from across the room. Cement floors, cement walls, she can only assume she's tied up somewhere in one of the asshole's basement.

"Look at me," the other woman somehow found her composure again, playing the good cop between the two. The woman in sheer pain, happily obliges, meeting the other woman's gaze. "Enough with the games. We won." She smiles but there's no joy in her eyes when she admits her triumph. "Where. Is. She?" She annunciates each word, slow and calm, ensuring that the half conscious woman wouldn't miss a word.

"I swear, I don't know," the woman pleads with glossy eyes, but refuses to shed a tear, even in the face of death. The panic is rising in her soul, bubbling up to the surface so she closes her eyes and replays the soft melody in her mind. The calming lullaby that always chased away all her fears and treacherous nightmares. The sweet song instantly settles her frantic nerves, allowing her eyes to flutter open and face her abductors. "Maybe if you just tell me who you are looking for, I can help you," she suggests hoping to prolong her life just a little while longer.

"Emma. Where is Emma Swan?"

A/N: This is just a preview of my next story. Like I had mentioned I will be taking a small break, but here's a little taste of Rockabye.