Thank you for the reviews. Hope you like how this story is going in terms of Regina and David's bond. It should be listed as its own character in this fic.


Chapter 2: Wedding Plans

February 20th, 2014

David tapped the knife against one of Regina's crystal wine glasses before the couple stood, looking at the people assembled around their dining table. "Thank you for coming." He started, taking Regina's hand and giving her a soft smile.

"We have set a date for our wedding." Regina continued. "August 16th." The guests cheered the couple.

"The reason we've asked you for dinner… is that we would like for all of you to be part of our wedding as groomsmen..." David locked eyes with Neal, Whale, Archie, and Grumpy.

"And my bridesmaids." Regina finished while looking at Red, Emma, Sarah, and Belle. She had been surprised that the bookworm had accepted her invitation. After the crisis situation with the Blaze had been over and David had been well on his way to recovery, Regina had confronted her former mentor about his deal with George. To her astonishment, the man had not denied giving the former mayor of Storybrooke the magical cuff that would have suppressed Regina's magic. He would have done anything to ensure Belle's safety.

It had taken all the self-control she had possessed not to conjure one of her fireballs but Regina was aware that this was not a fight she could have won. The Dark One was too powerful. As she had been about to leave his shop, Rumple had once again given her one of his riddles. 'Our arrogance will be our demise.'' Rumple's warnings should never been taken lightly and she had spent the little free time she had left after work and time with her family deciphering this newest riddle without much success.

A month ago, Regina had approached the only person who knew the beast better than she did: Belle. The woman had been more than willing to help Regina. After all, the redeemed Evil Queen was giving her hope for a future with the darkest one of all. Regina had found herself enjoying Belle's company, and in particular, her intelligence, and the two had become good friends although Regina would have never expected her to accept the invitation after the mayor had explicitly forbade the Dark One from entering her home. She had gone as far as to cast a few spells to protect her home, with the knowledge that it would only be question of time before Rumple broke through the defenses.

Henry brought Regina out of her dark thoughts. "What about me?"

Sitting down, Regina smiled and cupped her son's chin. "I have a special job for you, my little Prince."

"Please don't tell me I'll have to be the flower girl!" He let out in fear. The adults chuckled at the boy's reaction. Henry was definitely becoming a teenager.

Regina smiled, trying to contain her own laughter. "No. But I need someone to give me away. And I couldn't think of anyone better for the job than my knight in shining armour."

"I thought that was David." He mumbled. Although he was ecstatic that his mother had asked him to fill this meaningful role, his teenager's pride did not let him express his joy.

Regina smiled knowingly. "I'll take that as a yes, then." She kissed her son on the cheek, adding to his misplaced sense of embarrassment.

"So who are you going to pick as your maid of honor?" Emma teased, trying to save Henry for more motherly-induced blushing.

Regina smirked at the blonde. "The honor falls on you, dear."

Emma gasped in shock. "I… Regina... This…" She tried to reply but words were failing her.

Regina and David laughed. "Very eloquent, dear."

"I just don't know what to say…" She and Regina had tried to keep their relationship civil for Henry's and David's sake but they were not close friends. At least not as close as Sarah or even Belle were to Regina. "I wasn't expecting you to pick me. I… I'm surprised and… touched."

Red saved both women from having to share their feelings publicly, an act that she knew both women despised and even feared. "You know, Emma. This is more of a curse than a blessing." Emma turned toward her friend abruptly. "You're going to be Regina's maid of honor. So if anything goes wrong, you're the one she's going to blame." Emma's mouth dropped in shock. She had not looked at the offer in this light.

Regina suppressed a smirk. She was grateful for Red to have broken up the emotional scene. David and Henry were the only ones privy of Regina's more vulnerable side and the brunette intended on keeping it this way.

However, she had not chosen Emma to make her life a living hell - although now that Red had mentioned it, she did not see any harm in having a little fun along the way. She had chosen Emma for David and Henry. For a long time, Regina had kept everyone at arm's length to avoid getting hurt. However, in the past months, she had found herself enjoying the company of others: her early morning banters with Jacob - Daniel's father - at the stables, her afternoon coffee with Sarah, and the hours she had spent at the library with Belle. Perhaps given a chance, she could also appreciate spending time with Emma. And the hours they would spend planning the perfect wedding should be more than enough for Regina to decide whether she would ever be able to befriend the blonde.

"Regina, is this why you asked me to research the Gift of Agony? I found mentions of the spell in the older texts Rumple keeps in the back." Belle added playfully.

Emma's eyes widened in fear and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "The… Gift of Agony?" The name did not sound good.

"Yes, a very old spell Rumple showed me once. He was adamant I should never use it unless absolutely necessary." Regina deadpanned and David had to hide his growing grin under his napkin. He glanced around the table quickly, seeing similar gestures from the other guests. Even Grumpy was having a hard time suppressing his laughter.

"It's a special spell… causes excruciating pain without damaging the body. Very practical form of interrogation." Regina continued matter-of-factly. A year ago, this statement would have sent shivers of fear down anyone's spine. However, today, everyone - except apparently Emma - knew that this was Regina's attempt at humor. A very successful one. "It tastes like cinnamon. Makes it easy to hide it with apples."

Emma's eyes widened in fear as she looked at her half-eaten apple turnover. Unable to hold it any longer, Red busted out in laughters. "I can't believe you went for it." Everyone around the table followed suit. In-between fists of laughter, Archie looked at Regina. She was a far cry from the broken woman who had come to him a year ago. She was free and that was the most beautiful sight in the world.

Neal rubbed Emma's back as the blonde threw her napkin at Red. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry sister but this is hilarious." Grumpy managed in-between two fists of laughter.

Emma pouted slightly. "There will be payback." She looked at Red pointedly.

Red wagged her finger back and forth and shook her head. "This is for last week at the movies."

Emma smirked. "That was a good one."

"What did you do?" Sarah inquired curiously.

"When the bad guy was about to jump down on the cop, Mom grabbed Red's shoulders." Henry provided. "She screamed!"

Red smirked. "I was going to wait until the next full moon but this was much funnier."

As the laughter died down, David turned toward the doctor, who had become his closest friend. "Viktor, I would be truly honored if you'd be my best man."

The man's jaw dropped in shock. He never had friends before - he had been too absorbed in bringing his brother back from the dead. David was his first and although he did not always know how friendships worked, he understood how much he must mean for David to ask him. "I…" He started. "I'll be honored."

David raised his glass smiling and everyone took a sip, toasting the engaged couple.

ECECEC

February 22nd, 2014

A wide smile spread across her face as Regina parked the black Mercedes in front of the stables. She had finally been able to clear most of her schedule to spend some time with her dear mare, Sirocco and her foal, Sandshine.

As soon as she entered the barn, Regina was greeted by the sound of a hoof beating against a stall's door. She did not have to see the mare to know that Sirocco was not happy for being left alone for the past ten days. She was proven right a minute later when she saw the mare shaking her head up and down. She neighed as soon as she saw Regina.

The mayor suppressed a chuckle as she stood in front of the mare. Sirocco was already reaching for the pocket containing the carrots. "I'm sorry, big girl." She started while caressing the mare's forehead. "But I had a very special weekend planned last week." Her heart filled with love as she remembered the weekend she had spent with David in the cabin. They had spent two days making love to each other, going on hikes, improvising photoshoot sessions, and learning magic. It had been magical, in every sense of the term.

Sirocco did not care about the apology; she wanted her treats. She pushed against Regina's chest. The brunette took a step back to regain her balance before fetching one of the carrots from her pocket. "I brought you two to make it up." She handed the first one to Sirocco, who finished it in record time. "So am I forgiven?" In response, the mare nipped at the pocket containing the second carrot. Regina laughed. "You're not patient, are you?" She fed the second carrot to Sirocco before entering the box.

Sandshine took a few tentative steps toward Regina. Although the foal was still shy around humans, he had grown accustomed to Regina. The mayor offered him her hand, palm up, showing him she was no threat. He timidly approached the woman, letting her pet his neck. Regina marveled at the chestnut coat that reminded her so much of her dear Rocinante. "How would you like to try the brush again today?" Regina whispered softly to the horse. Daniel had taught her that grooming was the most efficient way to earn a horse's trust. He had spent hours showing her how to use the grooming sessions to teach a foal to accept a lead and later on a saddle and bridle. Regina was interrupted by Sirocco pushing onto her back. "I promise I'll start with you." She laughed at the mare's antics.

Regina spent the next couple of hours grooming the two horses before letting them into their outdoor paddock. She then started cleaning their stall. "Good morning, Regina."

The mayor jumped slightly at the voice. She turned around and greeted the stables' owner solemnly. "I'm sorry, Jacob." The man had aged ten years in the last two weeks.

The old man shook his head. "It was his time." A tear escaped his right eye and rolled down his cheek. "You… You and David gave me one more day with him."

Regina gave him a compassionate smile. "I wish I could have done more."

At the beginning of the week, Jacob's oldest horse took a turn for the worse. After nearly thirty-five years together - notwithstanding the years under the curse, Jacob had to say goodbye to his oldest friend. Although Jacob had been around horses his entire life, Jazz was the first horse he had been able to afford. He had taught Daniel how to ride with him and Regina had spent hours in the stables with the even-tempered horse. Jazz was the reason she had fallen in love with Daniel in the first place.

On her thirteenth birthday, Henry Sr. had offered his daughter her prized stallion, Rocinante. After years of arguing with her mother about riding lessons, Cora had finally relented. After all, a Queen may have to accompany her husband throughout their Kingdom. The head of their stable at the time had taught Regina rudimentary riding skills. Although he had warned her that she was not ready to take Rocinante on the trails, the young Princess had not listened. She had broken her arms in three places in the resulting fall.

Cora had been furious. After healing her daughter and grounding her for the foreseeable future, she had fired the stablehand. At least Regina hoped Cora had simply let the man go from her employ. However, knowing her mother, the man's neck had probably been severed or his heart crushed for letting any harm come to Regina.

Regina had refused to go to the stables or be around a horse for three months after the incident. In the meantime, her father had hired a new stables' head: Jacob, who had come with a horse with the nicest disposition Henry had ever seen. He had forced Regina to spend some time with Jazz and after much coercion on his and Daniel's part, she had started taking riding lessons again. She had spent another two months riding Jazz everyday before giving a second chance to Rocinante.

"You and David gave us one more day to enjoy together. This was the best gift you could have ever given us. Thank you." Not being one to display his emotions so openly, Jacob grabbed some of the fresh bedding Regina had left outside the box and started spreading in on the cleaned floor.

"You're welcome." Regina replied sincerely. She had used their True Love's magic to give one last pain-free day to the old horse. He had been able to run free around the paddock under Jacob's loving eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to your dinner. My heart wasn't in it."

"Jacob, you don't have to apologize. I know how much Jazz meant to you. I'm sorry."

"He had a good life."

"Yes. He definitely did." Regina smiled as she remembered the carefree moment she had spent riding him or riding alongside Daniel, mindful not to get caught by her mother.

"What did you want to talk to all of us about?" Jacob leaned against the doorframe, watching Regina replaced the feed and water.

"Nothing important…" She had meant to ask Jacob to be part of her wedding party but given his recent loss, she did not want to burden the man. "It can wait."

Before Jacob could prompt Regina further, their conversation was interrupted by a sharp neigh followed by expletives. They both rushed toward the sound in the training paddock just in time to witness one of the stable hands using a whip on one of the yearlings.

Jacob's blood boiled in rage. "What do you think you're doing?" Jacob grabbed the man by the collar, spinning him around to face him. He grabbed the whip and tore it from the man's hand.

"This horse is crazy!" He pointed toward the young stallion, still reeling from the attack. Regina was slowly moving toward him, offering reassuring words.

"That doesn't give you the right to use barbaric methods!"

"Your horse went for my head! I was just defending myself!"

Jacob looked toward the horse now in Regina's control. Although the animal was still clearly frightened, he let Regina lead him away from his abuser. Jacob turned back toward the man, his face contorted in rage. "He looks fine to me." Jacob released the man so abruptly that the stable hand fell on the ground.

Humiliated and angry, the man stood up, brushing himself off vigorously. "I won't let you treat me this way!"

"Fine because we'll never see each other again." Jacob advanced toward to man, clenching his fists. "You're fired. Don't bother coming back." He threw the whip at the man, hitting him square in the chest. "Now get off my property."

"I don't need this stinky job anyway." He snorted in contempt. "There are better jobs in town with honorable people not associated with the source of all evil." The man jerked his head toward Regina.

As Jacob's fist was about to connect with the man's jaw, a magical barrier appeared in-between the two. "Jacob, no! Please… just let him go."

Jacob's eyes narrowed confrontationally but Regina's intervention had been enough to prevent him from beating this man up. The stable hand laughed it off, walking away but not daring to turn his back on the fuming old man in front of him. "You should listen to your master, old man." He teased. It took Jacob all the self-control he possessed not to follow the man and give him a piece of his mind.

"He's not worth it, Jacob." The mayor was now standing next to him.

"I can't let him get away with whipping a horse."

"I know, Jacob." Regina placed her hand on his forearm. Jacob's honor had saved Regina's life when everyone, including her own father, had turned a blind eye on her mother's actions.