Emma had barely set foot inside the bridal chamber when Regina's voice cracked through the silence.
"Entertain me."
There would be no tender moments, no wedding night to speak of. Only the Queen's will mattered.
Emma dipped into a graceful curtsy before sitting cross-legged on the bed that should have witnessed her first night as a wife.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land..."
⸻
Two men worked tirelessly in the coal mines. Their names were David Nolan and Archie Hopper. Both dreamed of a better life, far from exploitation and endless hardship.
A dream, of course, forever out of reach.
Their days were ruled by the stale air of the tunnels, the relentless clang, clang, clang of pickaxes striking coal, and the dust that settled into every breath and every crack in the stone.
At last, one of them threw down his pickaxe in frustration.
"This is never going to end!" David complained. "We'll spend our entire lives working ourselves to the bone for a pitiful wage!"
"It's not as if we have a choice, my friend," Archie replied wearily. "Our country is poor, and it's only just beginning to recover from the war. Work... or you'll have nothing to eat tonight."
"As if it makes any difference! The pay is so miserable I'll barely have enough left for a loaf of bread after paying my rent."
David picked up his pickaxe once more.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
He kept swinging, the endless task stretching before him without end. Eventually, he wandered away from Archie in search of a richer vein of coal.
That was when he noticed a narrow opening concealed behind the rock.
Without more than a moment's hesitation, he squeezed through it.
"My heavens..."
It was no ordinary cave.
There were almost no stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and even fewer stalagmites rising from the ground. Instead, towering piles of gemstones filled the cavern. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds—every size, every color imaginable. Each gem shimmered with a mysterious light of its own, scattering rainbows across the walls.
The breathtaking sight drew David forward.
Almost without realizing it, he reached out.
If he could carry back even a single one of those jewels, his days of poverty would be over.
With a nervous laugh, the miner began stuffing gemstones into his pockets.
He knew the treasure wasn't his.
Even so, he couldn't resist weighing a few of the stones in his hands.
As he slipped a diamond the size of a clementine into his pocket, he suddenly felt a warm breath brush against his shoulder.
It was far too close to have been a simple draft.
He spun around, his heart pounding.
"Who's there? Archie... is that you?"
Only silence answered him.
A deafening silence.
No one was there.
Panic rising in his chest, David hurried back toward the cave's entrance...
Only to discover that it had vanished.
He pounded against the solid rock, shoving with all his strength.
Nothing.
The stone didn't budge an inch.
"No... NO! Let me out!"
Carved into the wall sealing the exit were a few simple words.
Those who resist temptation will see their lives grow rich. Those who give in will die with their treasure within these walls.
David screamed in despair.
He was trapped forever.
If only the warning had appeared sooner.
If only he had known.
He never would have given in.
But the rules do not always reveal themselves before the mistake is made.
⸻
The Queen studied her young wife with narrowed eyes.
She could feel that the story carried a deeper meaning, yet she couldn't quite grasp it. Something beneath the surface eluded her, and the mystery gnawed at her curiosity.
She wanted to understand what Emma's tale was truly hiding.