Chapter Text
A deep growl rang through the pitch black room. She stirred in her slumber, reaching for her eyes and rubbing them lightly. The growl came again, this time slightly louder. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around her room. Nothing. Pitch black. The growl came again, but this time a low bark followed.
"Lola," the young woman whispered. "Shhhh,"
However, the growling did not stop. She rested her tired hand on the dog's head, trying to soothe away its worries. Then she heard it- the snap of a tree branch, followed by a faint thud. Her ears perked up at the realization that her dog might not have been growling for nothing.
"What the hell," she muttered under her breath, her voice still slightly hoarse from slumber.
Upon wiping the sleep from her eyes once more, she rolled her lanky olive toned legs over the bed and slowly crept her way to her bedroom door. Along the way she grabbed a wooden baseball bag that stood along her wall and held it tightly in her grip. Although she was shaking quite a bit, her confidence did not falter once as she tiptoed her way through the squeaky house. Each step she took she held her breath. A faint draft from her kitchen laced her skin, making all of her hairs stand on edge as it went up her entire body to the back of her neck. As she rounded the corner to the next room, she spotted another window allowing a draft into her den. I need to stop sleeping with all these damn windows open, she mentally noted.
The gentle swoosh of her curtains caught her eye, as she slowly approached the window. Each step made her grind her teeth as the old wooden floors creaked under her weight. Her hands were drawn above her head tightly holding the bat while she ever so slightly peeked her head through the window.
The view of her backyard under the midnight moon was a sight she was fairly familiar with. Plenty of nights were spent sipping cold beers under the stars with her friends and loved ones. Lovely memories that made the woman smile just the slightest bit as she gazed upon the landscape. The gentle breeze caught her attention once more, snapping her out of her momentary reviere, as she finally raked her eyes to the small apple tree that was at the back of the yard.
The forest behind her house were more vast than a mile. Her property was nothing to be spooked by. She lived her entire life trotting through the woods at night, never once being frightened by the howling of wolves or the scurrying of rabbits. This night was different, though. This night she could not shake the chill of her neck hairs standing on end. Her intuition knew something was not quite right.
The bat was lowered as she slowly opened the back door to her estate, but only for a second so her hand could push the door handle. She took a deep breath as the her feet were met with the familiar feeling of the cold grass beneath her toes.
Her eyes scanned the freshly cut grass, and landed right on something that made her breath catch in her throat and her entire body lock into place.
There, right under her beloved apple tree, was a creamy white cloak on the ground with a mess of blonde tresses slipping out of one side, and thick brown leather boots from the other. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was, indeed, a human being. Beige leather pants hugged long legs tightly, and a rich plum wool sweater complimented ivory skin. If she wasn't so frozen in fear she would have taken a moment to appreciate this stranger's beauty. Her body felt like it was frozen in time. Her grip on the wooden weapon tightened as her eyes inspected this person that was sleeping under her apple tree.
The unknown creature stirred, a small feminine groan escaped its mouth as it reached for its own head, rubbing slightly. Its eyes slowly fluttered open, starting to slowly adjust to the surroundings.
The woman with the bat slowly regained her wit as she lifted the bat into position, readying to blow this stranger out of the park. A strong voice bellowed through the evening air causing the stranger to jump to life.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The woman growled, much like her dog did inside, as she held up her chin and inspected the woman on her lawn. The stranger gasped at the sudden defense of territory that was being spewed in her direction.
"Oh," she quickly sat up and scooted her bottom away a few inches. "My sincere apologies. I- I do not know what I am doing here."
Their eyes met for the first time. The woman slowly pointed her bat at the emerald eyes that were starting back at her.
"You're on my property and have no idea how you got here?" She scoffed at this stranger's ability to feign innocence. Maybe she was some cuckoo actress that escaped from the community theatre.
The woman quickly scrambled to her feet and put her hands in front of her as a form of protection. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders in curls hanging elegantly from a ponytail, and bounced to life just as she rose to her feet. The thick leather boots were dirty with mud, and the cloak upon her shoulders hung heavily, causing the woman to look small and pathetically hopeless. Her cheeks were tinted pink with embarrassment, as her eyes were noticeably searching all around her looking for something, anything, familiar.
"I- I swear. One second I was climbing a tree and the next I am..." the woman's frantic green eyes looked up once more to meet the honey chocolate ones before her. "Here..."
The bat was slowly lowered.
"What is your name?" The woman asked, letting her guard falter slightly, but still keeping a strict gaze upon the stranger.
"I... I am..." she took a deep breath in and shakily released it into the midnight air. "Princess Emma."
And that was the last thing the princess remembered before she was knocked upside the head with a wooden bat.