Emma and Regina settled on a small clearing as their resting place. They explained to the rest of the group that it was time for a break. Snow, of course, tried to protest because they were making so much progress.
"Yeah," Emma had gritted out after minutes of bickering with her mother about it, "and Regina and I have decided that it'd be best if we halt our 'progress' to come up with a plan that will actually work, so that we can, I don't know, do what we came here to do and save our son."
At this, Snow looked very affronted and Regina didn't know whether to laugh at her expression or beam at Emma's comments, so she did neither. And, moments later, she was glad she refrained, because Emma wasn't finished.
"We aren't all fairytale characters, Mary Mar – uh, Snow," Emma said, her tone remaining confident despite her stumbling over her mother's name. "We all can't be Prince Charming and rush in with swords drawn, expecting to save the day. The real world doesn't work that way, and while Neverland and magic isn't exactly what I'd call 'real world' either, I know that storming into Pan's camp without a basic plan beyond 'Grab the kid and go.' is a mistake waiting to happen. And I don't know about you, but I'd say we're already pretty screwed as it is and I would hate to see what the consequences of being unprepared would be. So, we're staying. That's final. At least, Regina and I will be staying."
"Why?" was all that came out of Snow's mouth after her daughter's little tirade.
Emma licked her lips and actually looked slightly nervous, although Regina was unable to determine why. "Because I, uh, like I said, we have to form a plan. And, um, Regina's going to teach me how to use my magic."
Snow's eyes grew as wide as saucers and Regina did not need the gift of foresight to predict the extremely loud, "WHAT?" that came out of her mouth.
Emma fidgeted, but before she was able to reply, Regina stepped forward and fixed an icy stare in Snow's direction. "You heard her, dear. Unlike the rest of the jungle after your little outburst, I know you aren't hard of hearing. I'll be teaching Emma how to hone her magic. Don't worry. I won't corrupt your precious little girl, and don't even think of stopping us. I'm not forcing her. She agreed. This is what's best for Henry."
Regina couldn't quite allow the words 'our son' to fall from her lips as easily as Emma seemed to have, but the sentiment was behind it regardless. Henry may have been her son for the first ten years of his life and she might have remained reluctant to admit Emma had any claim to his life, but the more time she spent with the blonde, the more she knows that her original assumptions regarding the Savior were incorrect. And Henry, when all was said and done, was both of theirs. Perhaps not equally and currently she was sure she possessed the lesser portion of his affections, but they shared him all the same. And they would continue to do so if they could ever find him and bring him back home.
To do that, they needed to stop this foolishness with Snow and get to work. Regina was about to bark out orders like the Queen she was, to give her and the Savior some space, when Emma decided to speak.
"She's right, Snow," Emma sighed. She sounded so tired. "We need to do this. For Henry. Okay? So, look, just let us do what we need to do. Don't worry about me. Go with David and Hook and go find some firewood or something, okay? I may not know much about magic, but I do know that it'll take a while for me to get the hang of the basics. We'll probably stay here for the night."
Snow studied Emma for a moment before replying, "Are you sure?"
Emma gave her a small half smile, "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about me. I can handle the Evil Queen."
A nod from Snow White was all she got in return for her comment before Snow went to talk to Charming and Hook about finding firewood.
Regina smirked at Emma once they were alone, "You really think you can handle me?"
The Savior grinned, "In those shoes? I bet I could."
"Ah," Regina nodded, "it's not the shoes you have to worry about, Miss Swan. It's the magic."
With that, Regina conjured a small fireball and feigned aiming it in Emma's direction. Emma, for her part, looked a little startled by the sudden appearance of the weapon but she did not concede ground. "Because," Regina continued, impressed that Emma appeared as confident as ever when she knew she couldn't stop Regina with her untrained magic, "I don't have to run very far in these shoes to hit you with one of these."
Emma shrugged, "I suppose not, but I know you won't do it."
Regina looked quizzically at Emma, "And why do you seem so sure of that?"
"Because," Emma replied simply, "our son really wouldn't approve of his moms hurting each other when they were trying to save him."
Regina tried to keep the smile hidden. She really did. But when she was faced with the ease with which Emma was able to teasingly say 'our son' and 'his moms' without any hint of the malice or disgust that would've surely laced the words had she spoken them, a feeling she was unaccustomed to came over her. Emma had accepted her, and it wasn't often that Regina was accepted.
And, with the revelation Pan made Emma go through to 'unlock' the map, Regina knew acceptance wasn't something Emma was exactly familiar with either. So instead of making a snippy remark or questioning how Emma would know what Henry would approve of since she's only known him, for all practical purposes, for a few months, Regina just said, "Very well then. You're safe, for now. Because of Henry."
She almost missed the breathy, "Yeah, for Henry," that Emma chuckled a moment later. Almost.
The two women had made some progress by the time Hook and the Charmings returned with firewood. That, of course, only meant that Emma had learned how to barely levitate a small log. But at least she was learning.
"I never thought I'd say this," Regina said, "but thank goodness you guys are back. We need to use the firewood, thank you."
Emma helped her parents unload the firewood and said, "Yeah, 'cause I really need more sticks to float."
"Actually," Regina said, "you're going to start a fire."
"I was a Girl Scout," Emma began, before she amended, "for a very brief period of time. I know how to make a fire without, you know, magic."
"That very well may be, Miss Swan," Regina said, using her best unimpressed voice, "but we are not going to defeat Pan by using flint. If you can conjure up fireballs, however, we may have a fighting chance."
Emma nodded, "Right. Fireballs. Like you. How hard could it be?"
Hook clapped Emma on the shoulder with his good hand, "That's the spirit, Swan!" before he made his way over to Charming and the two once again were involved in a private discussion.
Before Regina could think about eavesdropping, however, to find out the progression of Charming's illness, Snow piped up, "Aren't fireballs dangerous, though?"
Rolling her eyes, Regina looked at Snow like she was a rather slow child, "Yes, they are. Which is why I want to teach Emma how to conjure and use them. Because they are dangerous. And they will help us to save Henry."
"Yeah," Snow said, "I understand that, Regina. But don't you think it's a little, I don't know, advanced for Emma?"
Regina quickly glanced at Emma and she immediately wished she hadn't, because, just for a split second, she saw a look of hurt cross Emma's face, a hurt she had felt quite often herself. A hurt that said she wasn't good enough. But Emma quickly masked that look and Regina answered Snow, pretending she didn't see it, "Emma's a big girl, Snow. And we are pressed for time. Maybe if I were leisurely teaching her how to control her magic, we could go from levitating logs to making cupcakes appear out of thin air, but we don't have that luxury. Emma's magic is very powerful. More powerful than mine, even, but it will be of no use if she can't control it. If Emma can handle the Evil Queen, she should have no trouble handling a couple fireballs. Right, Emma?"
Emma perked up slightly, Regina noted, the confident Swan swagger she attributed Emma back in full force. It often appeared after Emma felt challenged; Regina knew this from personal experience. "Yeah," she stated confidently, "I can totally conjure up some fireballs. Show me how it's done, Your Majesty."
Snow cocked her head at Emma's use of Regina's former title, and Regina admitted she was curious as to why Emma addressed her as such, but before either of them could comment on it, David and Hook came up to them.
"Your father and I must make a little detour, love," Hook said, addressing Emma.
Emma eyeballed him and her father suspiciously, "Why?"
"To, uh, get some," Charming stuttered, "thing."
"Right, lass," Hook said, plastering a smile to his face, "What your father means to say is we are to retrieve a sextant. My brother and I left it here on my first venture in Neverland and I think it may help us. It's special, you see."
Emma did not look convinced, and Snow seemed exceptionally curious as well. Regina knew that whatever the two men were planning, it did not have to do with retrieving a sextant and most likely had to do with Charming's dying from Dreamshade, but she wasn't going to voice her suspicions. As long as the two men did not get themselves killed, or worse, lead Pan and his little army of miscreants here to them, Regina was fine with whatever convoluted plan they had concocted.
"Let them go," Regina said. "Let them find this sextant. We need to practice, Emma. And it'll be easier for you if they aren't here."
"While I appreciate you trying to keep things easy for me," Emma began, "I know it won't be easy in the field. Maybe distractions would help."
"Oh, trust me, dear," Regina smiled, "I'll be distraction enough for you. Let your father and the pirate go."
Without waiting for Emma to confirm Regina's permission for them to go, Charming and the pirate headed off to the woods, but not before Snow and the prince whispered 'I love you.' and 'I will always find you.' much to both Regina's and Emma's chagrin.
Once the men were on their way to do whatever it was they were actually planning on doing, Regina found herself left with a Savior eager to learn how to make fire and a Snow White who was eager to make sure Regina didn't turn her daughter evil.
Under the watchful eye of Mary Margaret, who was perched on the log Emma had been hovering previously, Emma turned to Regina with a small grin and said, "Let's make some magic."
