Prologue

The Hatching Ceremony

"We've got a bond in common, you and I. We are both alone in the world."

― Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Emma Swan was incredibly excited as she stood in front of her full length mirror in her vast bedroom. Her blonde hair was up in its proper bun, a style her parents would approve of. The dress was the royal red, with a soft tiara resting on top.

She of course was only sixteen, as was the required age to attend one's Hatching Ceremony.

The ceremony itself was the most highly anticipated in the kingdom of Ouat. And especially on the princess's birthday, where she got to choose, it would be celebrated by all. All of this rushed through the blonde's mind as her mother walked in the door.

"Good morning mother."

Snow White smiled at her daughter who looked absolutely breathtaking.

"Good morning Emma. Are you excited?"

"Beyond. I get to meet my match today!"

Snow sighed and sat on Emma's bed, patting the spot beside her. Emma walked over and joined her mother on the bed and let Snow fix her hair.

"Emma, dear, you know this must be taken seriously. If you choose the wrong egg…"

"I know…the bond goes sour and something tragic happens. I know."

"Emma…"

"Mom. I will be careful. I want to have a great bond with my soulmate like you have with Niveus or what Dad has with Venuste."

Venuste and Niveus were Emma's parents' dragons. Both were big and majestic, one with glittering purple scales and the other with glowing white.

That what was different about the kingdom of Ouat. It had dragons.

And Emma Swan was going to pick her egg today.

"I know you understand Emma. I remember when I chose Niveus. She was a gorgeous white egg that seemed to just have a great aura of innocence and light around her. I knew in that moment, with my heart, that she was the one."

Emma smiled at her mom and put her head on Snow's shoulder.

"That's the thing Emma. You need to feel it here, not here."

Snow pointed to Emma's heart and then to her head, to which Emma nodded in response.

"Well, I better get going. You're coming soon yes?"

Emma nodded again and Snow smiled, her white dress getting up to follow her and the train dragging out behind. The blonde took a deep breath and got up, heading over to her mirror again.

With nervous hands, Emma smoothed out her dress and pushed a blonde tendril back. She sighed and turned around to check her back. Once the blonde agreed with the outfit she headed over to her bedroom door, and left to attend her life changing event.

…

"As we all know, for thousands of years, Ouat's relationships with the dragons has been peaceful. But none of this would have been possible without the bravery of one man."

Emma sat on the balcony as her father stood at a podium, speaking to the citizens of their kingdom. Her mother stood off to the side, with Niveus standing there, her white scales like a blinding light.

Niveus was big, and her lover, Venuste, was the same size, his own purple scales glittering like a thousand amethysts. The both sat tall and proud, their long neck outstretched as they gazed over the crowd.

Smaller dragons rested on the citizens' shoulders, awaiting with anxious faces just as their matches were.

"Aurum was an outcast of his time, due to his life as a gardener. Most men would become knights and fight, but he much preferred the peaceful life."

"King Midas, a man with the golden touch, was being threatened by a great beast. He sent knights to defeat it, but they came back either dead or burned. So Midas threw out a challenge to the people. Those who could defeat the dragon that lay in the dark depths of the Enchanted Forest, who receive a great reward from him."

Emma shut her eyes for a few moments, as her father spoke. She must have heard the legend of Aurum a thousand times as her father insisted she know it for her own Hatching Ceremony.

"So many citizens tried to defeat the dragon but they failed. One day, Aurum declared he would go and the people laughed at him. For how could a measly gardener fight a dragon?"

"But Aurum ignored their words and proceeded anyway. He entered the Enchanted Forest and went to the darkest depth and there he met the mother of all dragons. There instead of attacking the dragon, he listened to it. He developed a bond with the dragon."

"From there he brought the dragon back to the kingdom, declaring it harmless to King Midas. Midas questioned his sanity but Aurum stood for what he believed in and showed Midas the bond he and the mother dragon now shared. It was powerful and Midas soon realized the dragon was no foe, but a friend."

"Midas then built the Nest for the mother, where she laid eggs, enough for every citizen and royal to have one. New bonds were developed and Aurum was declared a hero."

"Since then we have had the hatching ceremony for children at the age of sixteen, where they are old enough to establish a mature bond. Choosing an egg is a difficult task, and must be made with extreme caution."

Emma took a deep breath, knowing her time was coming very soon. Her mother clasped her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze to which Emma smiled in thanks.

"And it is with my great pleasure to announce that today, my own daughter Emma, has come to that age and is now able to choose her egg. Emma?""

The crowd erupted into cheer and Emma swallowed, her nerves beginning to get the better of her. The blonde's father stepped back from the podium and gestured to the princess to step on up.

Emma took a deep breath and left her mother's side, immediately missing the reassurance she gave. Somehow the blonde made it to the podium and her father kissed her cheek, and joined her mother.

Emma looked over the crowd and her eyes widened in fear. She didn't do crowds or obligations. Emma had always been an outcast, a loner. She wore trousers instead of dresses like the little girls. She studied and fought while other girls became seamstresses. She didn't speak to people, she avoided them.

She was alone.

With one last look at her parents who had patient smiles on their faces, Emma began what every child said before they entered the Nest,

"I'm ready to choose my soulmate."

The crowd erupted and Emma stepped down from the podium, and began to walk up the massive marble staircase which led to the white wooden doors guarding the nest. No one was allowed to enter but one at a time.

Bonds were life, and concentration was key in making the right one. There had been no mistakes so far except for one person.

But that was years ago. It hasn't happened because everyone before the princess had been successful since.

The fear though still lingered in Emma's heart as she made her way up the stairs. She could feel everyone's stares burning into her back like a hot iron. The blonde rolled her shoulders and twitched as if trying to remove the warming sensation. She hated it.

Soon Emma arrived at the doors. The knights guarding them bowed, and opened them allowing the blonde access.

With one final gaze at her parents, Emma turned her back on the crowd and went inside, the doors shutting firmly behind her.

…

The first thing Emma noticed was that the room was incredibly dark, except for the few strands of the morning sun streaming through the skylight (which barely lit anything) and the glowing eggs around her.

It was quite a sight the nest. It was twigs, branches, leaves, essentially nature forming nests which held many eggs; all different colours and different sizes.

Emma knew the citizens of Ouat would expect her to come out with a big egg such as her parents did before her and generations before them. There had never been a royal who had never chosen a small egg.

The blonde shook those thoughts away and gazed in wonder at the Nest. It was exactly the way she pictured it. Her eyes skimmed all the eggs around her and while some were quite tempting to choose, Emma didn't feel they were the right ones in her heart.

It was about an hour in when Emma sat on the ground, tired of all the searching. She still hadn't found an egg and was frustrated. Her parents had found their mates quickly and here she was taking forever.

With a huff and collapsed onto the ground, her hair fanning out beneath her like a halo. Her body was lying on the dirty floor in a star shape, and she gazed out at the skylight.

There had been a yellow egg that she had really liked. It was big and glittery. It had drawn Emma in quite well acting like the finest jewels in the realm. But when she approached it she just didn't feel the connection.

Emma rolled onto her side and that was when she saw it.

In the corner, tucked behind a rock where a bunch of massive eggs rested, was a tiny deep forest green egg.

The blonde approached it cautiously, gazing at it in curiosity. Emma sat and stared at it, a small smile coming onto her face.

"You're the ugly duckling of the bunch…aren't you?"

Emma knew the egg couldn't hear her, but she like to think that it did. She leaned forward till her elbows were on the ground and she was hunched over like a troll.

"But I bet that when you grow, you'll be the most beautiful swan out of all of them."

In that moment the princess swear she could have seen movement beneath the egg's shell, as if the dragon inside had responded to her voice. Emma knew that she had found a kindred spirit and knew this egg was the one.

Her soulmate.

A surge of excitement shot through her system and Emma picked up the egg, her touch confirming the bond. She grinned and spun around, clutching it to her chest tightly. The blonde raised the egg to her eye level, and smiled as the deep green glow became just a bit brighter than before.

"We've got a bond in common you and I; I was alone in this world and so were you but now we are not. We've found each other Erue."

Emma grinned at the name Erue. It was perfect for her mate, as he was indeed her erue. She kissed the egg lightly and headed to the exit to show her match to the world.

…

The doors opened, groaning under the pressure. Emma took a deep breath, afraid of facing the people of Ouat once more as she made her vow, the Bonding vow. The vow established the bond to the public, and it was an oral agreement that nothing would break the bond.

The podium stood there tall and proud, intimidating Emma a lot. She clutched onto he egg tighter as she made her way down the stairs back to the podium. The servants had set up a stand beside the podium with a plush pillow for Emma to rest her egg on.

The blonde knew her parents were excited to see her egg, but she was afraid of what they would think.

The knights stepped forward to help Emma carry her egg until they realized she didn't need help. The blonde smiled sheepishly and the knights simply bowed and stepped out of the way.

The princess stepped up to the podium and placed her egg on the stand beside. She looked over the crowd once again and felt their stares digging into her mind, judging her on why she'd pick such a small egg.

Emma shut her eyes and bit her lip, just wanting to run from their eyes and into her room.

A calm sensation rolled over her and she looked to her egg to see it glowing even brighter. She smiled and knew that Erue was most definitely the right choice. So she began to speak.

"I vow that from this day forward you shall not walk alone. My strength is your protection, my heart is your shelter, and my arms are your home. I shall serve you in all those ways that you require. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care. Yours is the name I whisper at the close of each day and the eyes into which I smile each morning. I give you all that is mine to give. My heart and my soul I pledge to you. You are my Chosen One, you are my mate, and you are bound to me for eternity."

Once Emma finished the vow the crowd once again erupted into cheer and the blonde breathed a sigh of relief.

The princess took her egg and headed over to her parents who embraced her in a tight hug. The pulled back, grinning ear to ear.

"So? May we see it?" asked Snow.

Emma raised the egg to her parents view and they looked at it with odd faces.

"Well, it certainly isn't what I'd thought would be your match but I guess sometimes things aren't what we expect."

The blonde smiled and nodded in agreement, words being unable to form. She was just so happy. Emma had dreamed of this day her whole life and now she was finally matched.

"Little one you have chosen wisely. I can sense the bond between you two. It is strong and you have not met."

Emma grinned at Niveus who had spoken. Dragons spoke to humans in their heads as they could not create actual words.

"That's because we are soulmates."

Niveus huffed out smoke form her nostrils which indicated she was laughing.

"Indeed little one."

Emma stood by and watched as her family began to head back into the castle. With tender hands the blonde stroked her egg and smiled at it.

"You are my erue, Erue."

A/N: I'M BACK! And thanks to your votes you voted for Touch The Sky1 It's going to be epic so please read and review (as always ;) ) Voting poll is still open for the next story after Touch The Sky!

Anyway next chapter is 12 years later so…yeah…

Much Love!

~ Ember G.