"I refuse to let her do this!" Charming shouted in frustration as he paced back and forth across the long corridor of the palace. "I know better than anyone just how wrong this is." He huffed, his pace increasing some as he did so.

Snow let out a loud sigh and shook her head, "I don't want this either but it's her decision. She's twenty-five now, it's up to her whether she wants to do it or not."

James let out and exasperated sigh while Snow kept nervously fidgeting with her dress, waiting. The only sound that filled the hallway was the clicking of Charming's boots against the stone floor.

Though it had only been about fifteen minutes since she went in there, it felt like hours to both of them before she finally came outside.

As the doors to Emma's room opened, Charming turned on his heels to face his daughter standing in the doorway. "I've made my decision." She told them firmly as she made her way out into the hall. Her parents were on edge waiting for her response.

Emma straightened up, then cautiously smoothed her dress and took a deep breath, "I've decided that I will marry the Prince."

"I forbid it!" Charming roared, obviously not getting the answer he was hoping for.

"The kingdom will fall apart if I don't!" She defended.

Her father clenched his fist and stared down at the palace floor, not saying anything.

"No matter what we do our crops keep failing, if I don't marry the Prince and form an alliance with their kingdom there will be nothing left of ours!" Emma went on to remind him.

Snow and Charming's kingdom had fallen on hard times lately. Their once peaceful and flourishing kingdom was now struggling just to survive. The vital and plentiful crops had mysteriously shriveled up and nothing they did could seem to fix them. Because of this, the farmers had little to sell and the food supply in town had started to dwindle.

Then one day, a messenger came with a letter from the Prince of a neighboring land to the West. The letter contained an offer of an alliance between kingdoms for Emma's hand in marriage. The alliance would keep both countries at peace and would help the kingdom get back on its feet again. Should she choose to accept, the wedding would take place seven days after that, in his kingdom.

Both Snow and Charming dismissed the idea of it instantly. Emma on the other hand, suprisingly enough, actually gave it some consideration.

But his daughter was right, and he hated that. James had promised himself that no child of his would ever be forced into an arranged marriage like he had when he was younger. Luckily for him the woman he was set to marry, Abigail, the daughter of King Midas, was in love with someone else as well. So with some help from each other, the two managed to get out of the ordeal and wound up with the people they truly loved.

There was no way he'd let Emma go through with this, even despite wearing through all their other options. There just had to be something that he missed, something that could turn this kingdom around without his daughter having to get married.

Succumbing to frustration, he stormed out of the room. Snow stood beside her daughter and sighed. "He's not mad at you, it's the situation." She told her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Emma nodded. "I know."

Despite her current calm and cool demeanor, deep down inside she was fighting the idea just as much as they were. Emma never considered herself much of a Princess, at least not in the traditional sense. She was feisty, adventurous, and hated staying in one place for very long. The extravagant clothes and the lavish parties held little interest for her.

So the idea of being tied down to some Prince and forced to live in another kingdom was not her idea of a good time. The young blonde was far from being a romantic, but when she finally got married she was hoping it would be for love and not whatever this was.

But her kingdom needed her more and if that meant having to marry this guy to save her people, then she'd do it. It was her duty as a Princess, and though she wasn't much of a Princess in other respects, she could at least do what was best for her people.

"I guess you have a busy day tomorrow then." Snow mentioned, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. Upon accepting, Emma was supposed to make her way to the Prince's kingdom as soon as possible. Which meant she'd be leaving tomorrow morning.

The young princess let out a sigh, "I guess your right..." Her mother wrapped an arm around her back and gave her daughter's arm a gentle squeeze, "Then let's make tonight count."

Next morning Emma was dressed in a light green dress and was standing just outside the castle in front of her family's carriage which was to take her to the Prince's castle. A letter had been sent yesterday afternoon via carrier pigeon to the Prince, of Emma's acceptance to the proposal.

Snow approached with teary eyes and gave her daughter a tight hug, "We'll keep searching for a solution, even up until the moment you have to say 'I do.' You deserve to find love on your own, not because you were forced into it."

Emma smiled sadly, "Thanks mom." As Snow left, her father made his way over to her. A look of disappoint on his face, "I've let you and your mother down. I should have been able to fix this. It shouldn't have come down to this, I failed." Emma shook her head. "You and Mom have already done so much for this kingdom, it's my turn this time. Don't blame yourself."

Charming pulled his daughter into a hug, "Keep strong." Emma nodded, and James joined his wife standing at the gate. As Emma got inside the carriage they waved her off as she set out to the neighboring kingdom.

Emma let out a heavy sigh, she could feel her freedom slipping through her fingers. 'Maybe it won't be so bad.' she thought. Oh who was she kidding, of course it would be. The young princess was being traded like cattle. She tried her best to not think about it and just enjoy the freedom she still had left.

The wooden wheels of the vehicle let out a slight creek every now and again as it would roll over a bump on the path. Gazing out the side window, she watched the trees whiz by as they drove along.

Suddenly the carriage came to an abrupt stop which sent Emma flying forward into the seat across from her. After regaining her balance, she called out to the driver. "What was that?" But there was no answer.

The door then violently swung open and a gloved hand gripped tightly around her upper arm, roughly dragging her out of the carriage. As she's pulled out she sees that the guards she was traveling with are all dead on the ground. Her eyes widen and she can feel a rush of cold throughout her body.

It's then that she finds a dagger against her throat. She sharply inhales as she feels the cool blade against her skin. Tilting her head up, Emma can see that she's being restrained by a large and stocky troll. Another man snickers and jumps down from the roof of the carriage, then makes his way towards her. He's a rather weasely fellow, with a scar that runs diagonally down from his eyebrow to his cheek. The troll lowers the knife some but still keeps her tightly restrained

"Going somewhere are we Princess?" The man says grabbing her chin to look at him. She sneers trying to jerk away from her captor. "What do you want from me?" The young girl asks disdainfully.

"I don't want anything, but the person who hired us wants you dead." Tensing up, Emma's eyes go wide and she tries to prevent the fear from settling in the pit of her stomach.

"We were guaranteed a fine chunk of change for your head. It's a sad day when a Princess is worth more dead than alive. Ransoms tend to fetch for far more than bounties." He says with a smirk. "But given the trouble your kingdom is in you aren't worth much. Worthless really."

'Worthless?' The words stung like salt on a wound. Was that what she had become?

"At least were getting something out of this." He said with a shrug. The man headed towards the front of the carriage, but just as he was beside his partner in crime he callously says, "Kill her."

A jolt of adrenaline suddenly rushes through her and the princess shoves her elbow back hard, delivering a sharp blow to the troll's gut. The man let out a grunt and stumbled backwards as he let go of her. The troll then proceeded to fall back, landing directly on top of the scar faced fellow. It was then that Emma used this opportunity to run.

"Get off me you twit and go after her!" The man called out from beneath the troll that was squashing him. As they struggled to their feet, the two ran off to pursue the princess.

A/N: No Huntsman in this chapter, sorry. I had originally intended for him to be but because I cut the chapter in half, his introduction occurs in the next one. No worries though, he shows up very early in chapter 2. But since he wasn't in this chapter, I'll give you guys a little teaser of the next chapter to keep your interest:

[As she comes around a bend, she turns to see the Huntsman sitting up against the same tree he was leaning against before, sharpening his arrows and adjusting his bow. Her jaw drops. "You have to be kidding me..." Emma muttered shaking her head. "I've been walking around for the past half hour only to wind up in the exact same place as before."

The Huntsman stares back at her with a rather amused grin. She glares at him in return which only makes him more amused. 'Humans are such funny creatures.']