"Emma! Emma Swan!" Regina hitched up her long black skirt and stepped over a strategically placed log. She'd spent the last hour wandering around, searching for her girlfriend. After interrogating a stable girl she'd learnt that there was a horse missing, clearly indicating that Emma had come up with another brilliant idea to get herself into trouble. Now she was picking her way through the riding course, definitely not wearing the right shoes for the occasion.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the thunderous sound of a galloping horses' hooves nearby, soon followed by Emma's shouts of "Woah, woah," a sickening thump and an accompanying "oof."
Oh, gods, no.
"Emma! Where are you?" Regina cried out, becoming frantic. "Are you hurt?" There she was, marching around looking to shout at her girlfriend for disappearing, and now it appeared that she'd been in an accident. A flood of guilt washed over her.
"Hey! HEY! Get back here, you stupid animal! Come back!" There was a scuffling sound, a grunt and another thump. "Ah, shit."
Regina ran towards the sound, her heart pounding madly in her chest, but leapt back in surprise when one of her best horses came galloping past her. Once the shock had passed she rushed off in the direction the steed came from and soon found a crumpled Emma Swan at the foot of a tree.
"There you are!" She knelt down beside Emma and swept the girl's hair out of her forehead, gasping when she found a small gash on her pale skin. "Oh, Emma, you idiot! What were you thinking?"
"I'm fine Regina." She protested as Regina began to lift her upwards. "I can stand on my – ow," she grunted and winced as her ankle gave out.
"Clearly you can't," Regina scoffed. She tucked her hands under Emma's arms and pulled her up against the tree. "You are spectacularly irresponsible," she snapped. Her fears for Emma being gravely injured were starting to dissipate and were being replaced by anger. "Were you planning on getting yourself into trouble, or are you just this much of a hazard?"
Emma glared at Regina. "Look, I figured if I can drive a car and ride a bike, I can manage one of these. Didn't count on the mind-of-its-own thing. Stupid beast."
Regina ignored the jab at one of her prized steeds and continued to examine the injury on Emma's forehead. A simple remedy – Regina closed her eyes and concentrated for a second before gently swiping her finger along the cut. It was healed instantly. "That'll tickle for a few minutes," she said as Emma reached up to touch it. "If you'd never ridden before, dear, why didn't you ask me for help?"
"Because I wanted to surprise you! I thought it would be nice for us to go riding together soon, and I wanted some practise." Emma blushed and looked away from Regina's gaze. "I feel like there's nothing I can do with you in this world. As a date, you know."
All of Regina's anger melted away. "Oh, Emma." She kissed the blonde softly. "We'll go back to the castle and I'll heal your ankle, and then you can rest. How about I give you a riding lesson tomorrow?"
"You would do that for me?" Emma asked incredulously.
"Of course I would." Regina smiled sweetly but her expression changed into one more devilish and regal. "If you got yourself killed on my property, I believe I might find myself suddenly very unpopular once more."
Emma laughed. "You're so romantic."
"Is that a challenge?" Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked at her girlfriend before sweeping her up with surprising strength and marching her off to the castle, bridal style. Emma giggled and relaxed into the Queen's arms, deciding that perhaps she should get herself injured more often.