A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Here is chapter four. Especial thanks to my Beta reader, Bloodymary2!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.

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The White Heart Part II

Emma and Regina were walking to the arena they had visited the day before. Emma was a buddle of nerves while Regina seemed as calm as ever; a fact that bothered the blonde immensely. Triton and Ariel swam before them and Emma was able to tell that even they were anxious or nervous about the duel. Emma was about to say something when an invisible force pulled her forwards. Seconds later, Emma found herself between the huge hands of Poseidon. Emma immediately tried to distance herself from the King, but it was in vain. Poseidon seemed to enjoy her struggling because his grip grew stronger and stronger with every second.

"I just wanted to say hello before I duel your Queen." Poseidon said with a happy and sickening grin in his face. "You look lovely, my princess. How have you spent your night in my castle?"

"Just peachy, your Majesty, could you put me down, you are hurting me!" Emma's remark was intended as mockery, but it seemed to work since the huge merman placed her back on the floor.

"I'm sorry, my lady, I always forget to restrain my strength." Poseidon apologized. Emma knew immediately he was lying. "I promise I'll be gentler on our weddings night." Emma literally shivered at the idea.

"Gods, I think I'm going to throw up." Regina's voice said behind her. Emma scowled at her, but Regina ignored her.

"My Queen, I wish you luck in the battle field. Don't worry, Emma. I'll free you from her. It's obvious she doesn't deserve you as her partner." Poseidon said before swimming through the gate to the arena. Regina was about to follow him when Emma slapped her in the back of her head. Regina stood there for a second, analyzing what had just happened and turned around to look at the blonde with incredulity.

"Did you just slap me?" Regina asked and as a response Emma crossed her arms over her chest and looked fiercely at Regina. "Triton, tell your father I changed my mind, he can keep her." Regina said in annoyance.

"You are such an idiot! Why didn't you do something?" Emma retorted angrily.

"He didn't rape you." Regina rolled her eyes with exasperation.

"And how exactly was he going to do that? He is a merman, he doesn't have a penis. How is he supposed to rape me? " Emma had that question in her mind since earlier. Was the merman able to transform his lower half into human as well as Ariel? Regina simply laughed at loud at the question.

"Good question. Maybe he'll use his giant fork on you later."

"It is called a trident." Triton offered, watching in amusement at the interaction between the two women, who completely ignored him.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Emma asked, getting angrier by the second.

"Why are you so mad? Are you angry because I didn't defend you? You wanted me to step in for you?" Regina asked and to her surprise, Emma blushed. However, the witch couldn't tell if the blush was from anger or embarrassment…. Maybe both.

"You are supposed to be my fiancée! You are supposed to be concerned about me! You are supposed to sell it!" Emma said in a rush, feigning irritation. She wasn't sure why she was so mad, but she knew it was Regina's fault. However, she never expected the small smirk that crept to Regina's features seconds later.

"You want me to sell it?" Regina asked smugly while walking slowly towards her. Oh my god! This was a bad idea! Abort mission! ABORT MISSION! "You only needed to ask, dear." Regina was now invading Emma's personal space. The raven-haired woman was so close to Emma that she could feel her breath over her lips. Emma's throat went dry and her heartbeat shot sky high. She hated Regina so much right now.

In the meantime, Ariel and Triton were now looking at the women in disbelief. Suddenly, Regina knelt before Emma while holding her left hand between hers. Emma was speechless and totally overwhelmed when Regina leaned over and placed a soft kiss over her fingers. Emma was so flushed that Ariel and Triton thought that the woman would start to evaporate the water surrounding her at any moment. However, the explosion from Emma was totally different from the one they had been expecting.

"I'm going to kill you! Don't you dare to make fun of me like that!" Emma shouted with all her might. Regina giggled quietly while watching the blonde fuming before her.

"Oh, please. I totally sold that." Regina laughed.

When Emma was about to jump on her and beat the hell out of her, Regina smiled softly in return. "If he had tried to actually hurt you, I would have interfered. I told you I was going to keep you safe, there is no reason to feel scared." That was it. Emma had felt scared while being between the merman's huge hands. In fact, she was scared still. She could feel her heart running in her chest and her labored breathing was hard to control. She felt terror at the moment and she wanted Regina to defend her, so she wouldn't feel threatened anymore. She noticed that her hands were shaking and she swallowed with difficulty a lump in her throat. "You felt the enormous amount of his dark magic surrounding you, that is why you felt so shaky and overwhelmed. I'll repeat this to you, Miss Swan: I won't let him hurt you." Regina reassured with confidence.

"He is very strong." Emma's voice quivered.

"Pan is stronger." Regina countered and Emma couldn't hold the snort that left her throat. "You feel weak because you don't know how to use magic yet. I promise I'll help you with that. In the meantime, I'll just ask you to trust me, dear." Emma looked at the woman and she saw honesty in those dark-pool eyes. For some strange reason, Regina's presence was very comforting. She took a deep breath and nodded in response.

"Be careful."

"Don't worry, dear, I will be." Regina turned around and crossed the gates that lead her to the arena. Triton stood beside Emma and Ariel and after a minute interrupted the melancholic silence that had been created.

"My dad asked me to place you both in a private section of the bleachers. Please, follow me." Triton commented and soon the two women found themselves inside of a glass room right next to the arena. The bleachers were filled, one side with sirens and the other by mermen. Emma could see that Regina was already at one side of the field while Poseidon stood on the other side. Suddenly, the door of the room closed, trapping both Emma and Ariel within. Triton tried to force the door open, but the door wouldn't bulge. "I can't open!"

"Stop it, Triton. During my duel, Ariel and my future wife will remain imprisoned. Don't think I didn't know Ariel was the one who brought the Queen here. I won't allow her treason, after my duel she is to be punished." Poseidon said with an evil grin. Ariel fearfully grabbed Emma's arm to reassure herself.

"I'm sorry, Ariel." Triton said before stepping back. Triton walked to a higher ground and proceeded to calm down the crowd and address them directly. "Today our King will grant us the pleasure of watching him fight. His opponent is a Queen of an unknown land that dared to defy our King, and now he wants to claim her fiancée as his-" Triton didn't finished his opening speech because suddenly Poseidon moved forward and used his huge fish tail to slap Regina's body away. Regina's body struck harshly against the concrete barrier that separated the arena with the bleachers. Emma called the witch's name with concern, but the raven-haired woman simply stood up again and saw Poseidon laughing at her while thousands of sirens cried in euphoria.

"I have a feeling this is going to hurt me more than you." Regina said with a grimace while eyeing the merman that once again launched himself against her in battle.

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In the middle of Neverland's island, Tamara and Greg pushed Henry forward. They were trekking around, trying to find their way in the middle of the thick jungle.

"So, you don't know who your boss is and what his plan is? You just follow his orders as little minions? That's pathetic." Henry spat at his two captures in mockery.

"Shut up, kid, unless you want us to kill you." Tamara threatened, but Henry laughed at her confidently.

"If you had orders to kill me, you would've already done it. It is obvious you won't because your boss wants me alive." Henry explained simply. Even though he was being held captive by his assailants, he knew that he could use his importance against them.

"This is the spot." Greg announced, stopping in the middle of a narrow path. Nothing seemed to differentiate this spot from any other part of the jungle, but Greg seemed certain of his actions. He turned around to face Henry and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pockets. Greg took Henry's hands and made sure to lock his wrists around a busty three. "You will wait here for us. Come on!" Greg said before going deeper into the jungle, closely followed by Tamara. Henry didn't waste time and started to struggle against the handcuffs to try and release his hands. Things didn't look good for him. But the last thing he would ever lose would be his hope.

In the meanwhile, Tamara and Greg stood in the middle of nowhere waiting for something to happen.

"Are you sure this is the spot?" Tamara asked with insecurity.

"Yes, he said he would meet us here." Greg assured.

"I never break my promises." A young voice sounded from behind them. Unexpectedly, a body fell from the sky and landed easily before them in the ground. It was a boy. A boy no older than fourteen years, with short, brown hair. "Greg, Tamara, you are late."

"I'm sorry Mr. Pan, but we brought the kid just like you asked us to." Greg explained with a satisfied smiled. The kid just watched them intently for a couple of seconds, amusement shinning in his eyes.

"You seem happy, Greg. You think you did good, right?" The boy smiled at them with easiness, while Greg and Tamara seemed to be surprised by his question.

"Of course! We did what we had to do." Greg said with security.

"You see… Yesterday, I felt something very weird. A couple of minutes after you crossed the portal to reach Neverland…" Abruptly, the body of Tamara froze in place and Greg turned to look at her with concern. "I felt a presence. Somebody followed you…"

Greg watched in terror as something began swelling within Tamara's chest soon followed by a black liquid pouring out of her nose and eyes.

"I asked you to make sure nobody would follow you here…" All of the sudden, something snapped inside Tamara and the body of the woman fell to the ground, undoubtedly dead. Greg watched in alarm as a black shadow moved out of Tamara's body and rose up in the sky right over the mysterious boy.

"WHY! WHY DID YOU KILL HER?!" Greg screamed in desperation, holding Tamara's body in his arms. "You promised us you were going to keep us safe. You promised us you were going to erase the magic from our world!"

"That was before I knew you didn't obey my orders. I don't know who followed you, so I will forgive your life Greg…for now. I'll advise you to run away as far as you can, and I hope you don't find any Lost Boys on your path. You don't know what they can do to adults here." The boy laughed. Greg's fear and despair were written all over his face. He took a last glance at Tamara's body and slowly placed her again on the ground. With shaking legs, he stood up and sprinted, getting away from Pan in a mad rush.

Not far away, Henry tried desperately to free his hands out of the cuffs, but he only had managed to hurt himself so far. His wrists were now swollen and crimson red. If he kept trying, he would soon end up with his wrists covered in blood. But he didn't want to give up. Suddenly, Henry heard a noise around him and froze, expecting Greg and Tamara to come back from the deep jungle, but he was surprised to see a young boy running towards him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." The boy said, and using some sort of magic, he opened the handcuffs that kept Henry captive. "Here! Come on!" The boy took Henry's hand and made him follow him deep into the jungle. Henry didn't know were they were going, but as long it was away from Greg and Tamara, he was fine with it. After a while, the two boys came to a halt and decided to rest their tired lungs.

"Thank you." Henry said with a smile to the older boy, while he fought to regain his breath.

"You're welcome. I thought you needed the help."

"My name is Henry, and yours?"

"I'm Peter. Peter Pan. It's nice to meet you, Henry." Henry reached to take his hand, but suddenly, a red light appeared from nowhere and started to bump vigorously against his body. The small creature was small and sort of weak, but after a couple of bumps Henry had to step away to escape from the attacking light.

"Tinker, don't be disrespectful!" Peter reprimanded with authority. Henry saw how the bright red light grew dim; as a result, he was able to distinguish the small frame of a beautiful blonde fairy within it. "You have to excuse her, she is sometimes very jealous of me. She is over-protective, you know."

"Yes, kid, so you better keep yourself away from Peter, understood?" The fairy snarled in a bad mood. She had red eyes and the red light surrounding her was strong and transmitted a feeling of wickedness with it. However, Henry was so excited that he failed to sense the evilness in the small creature.

"Tinker Belle? The Tinker Belle?" Henry questioned with excitement and a huge grin in his face.

"Do you have a problem with me, kid?" The fairy scowled angrily, but Pan simply ignored her.

"You have heard about us?" Pan asked a little surprised. Henry could have sworn that he saw a flash of anxiety cross over Pan's features before it was replaced by self pride.

"Of course I have. You have to be one of the greatest heroes in all the fairy tales!" Henry cheered, exhilarated. Pan's features relaxed with his words. The older boy turned to look at the fairy that was still surrounded by the dim red light and smirked.

"You heard that, Bell? I'm a hero."

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Emma cringed and closed her eyes when she saw Regina's body being brutally slammed against the floor. Poseidon was wining the duel and Emma couldn't watch it anymore. Her hands were flat upon the glass cage that trapped her. She wanted to go out and help Regina. She was afraid of watching the woman die before her. Regina's body flew through the air again, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Let me out of here!" Emma shouted in anger. It wasn't the first time she said that to Triton, but she always got the same answer.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Triton said, voice filled with regret. Ariel next to her was openly crying and Emma was reaching new levels of desperation.

"Regina!" Emma screamed the woman's name, when she saw the witch getting up again while whipping off blood that had slipped out of the corner of her mouth. "Regina, you get out of here! Run away! Just run!" she screamed, while banging her clenched fists against the glass wall.

"Yes, why don't you try and run, earthen Queen?" Poseidon mocked, holding his trident menacingly in his hands while approaching Regina once again. In a quick motion, Poseidon pointed his massive weapon at her; as a result, a blue ray was shot out of it, hitting Regina directly in the chest. Regina's body staggered backwards once more, a painful cry sounding from the black-haired woman and echoing around the arena.

"Regina!" Emma punched the glass again, but this time she felt the magic wall quiver. She was using magic now. She could tell. She hit the wall again and she saw a small crack appeared on the surface. She was ready to bring the wall down when she heard a voice inside her head.

"Would you stop it already? I appreciate your concern, but I need you to save your magic for now, Miss Swan." Emma was left completely stunned. She was about to ask what that voice was, when she heard it again. "Don't talk. Just think. I'll be able to hear your thoughts as well." Emma's eyes flew open in surprise when she understood was going on.

"Regina? What…? How are you..? Are you inside of my head right now? How did you do this?"

"You really thought I was going to kneel before you without a reason?" Regina's voice sounded calm and full of mischief in her head, but at that moment the witch was running away from Poseidon, who kept firing magic rays at her. Emma considered for a while the fact that maybe the witch seemed physically weaker than she really was.

"The ring!" Emma's eyes flew quickly to said object in her left hand. Emma remembered that moment Regina had kissed her hand and noticed that the woman had in fact kissed the ring instead. "You put a spell in the ring."

"Yes, I did, I wanted to talk to you in private." Regina thought, while dodging a magic ray that was directed at her head. Emma thought about her words for a while and finally understood Regina's reasons.

"You don't trust Triton!"

"Do you?" Regina countered with stubbornness.

"Good point." Emma thought in acceptance. However, Emma couldn't understand the other request from the raven-haired woman. "Why did you ask me to save my magic? You are being massacred out there!"

"I'm not called the Evil Queen for nothing, Miss Swan. Do you really think I'm this easy to defeat? I'm just playing along for a while until I get what I want from him." Regina's voice was steady and secure, but Emma could see the woman panting heavily in the arena. At that precise moment, Poseidon swept his tail hitting Regina directly. The Queen collapsed to the floor while the public of sirens cheered for their King.

"He is killing you!" Emma bit her lower lip with such strength that soon her mouth was full with a coopery taste. She felt helpless and worthless. She hated being a simple spectator of the fight. Regina lifted her body with her eyes gazing at the King. Poseidon just stood there watching her, while she recovered her breath and brought herself to her feet again. The King was simply enjoying the show. He stood there watching Regina with pleasure, smug in the knowledge that he could easily kill her at any given moment. Regina grimaced at the level of confidence from the god. His ego made her doubt her own abilities. However, Regina knew she didn't need to wait too long before she could erase the smugness from his face.

"It looks worse than it really is… Trust me." Regina requested with a soft plea. Emma wanted to trust her, but the sight of Regina's weakening body was too much to take. She couldn't deny it now. She cared for the former mayor. She didn't want to see her get hurt. And knowing that the reason she was being hurt was Emma, herself, was driving her crazy.

"What the hell are you waiting for, exactly?" Emma's voice reflected every bit of the desperation and angriness the blonde was feeling at that moment. It was weird that even in her mind, her voice sounded so broken and weak.

"Listen!" Poseidon's voice roared around the arena, catching Emma and Regina's attention. "The rules of the duel are changing!" Emma was startled by the merman's proclamation and feared for what was to come next. "From now on, the duel will be…" Suddenly, the entire arena fell to silence, waiting for the King's announcement. "…to the death." Poseidon's voice was muffled by the loud cheers of the crowd. Emma immediately entered in panic and shifted her eyes to find the witch. Regina stood up gracefully and even at a distance, Emma could clearly see the smirk on the other woman's face.

"I was waiting for that." Regina said, surprising Emma. "Ready, Miss Swan?" Poseidon lifted his trident over his head and threw it with full force towards Regina. Emma was shocked and bewildered when she saw Regina jump high in the air and run over the very handle of the trident to get nearer Poseidon. "Now, fast! Think of something that makes you happy!" Regina commanded and Emma reacted immediately. She closed her eyes and thought of the first thing that came to mind.

A young blonde woman in a medical room panted heavily in exhaustion.

"Here it is." A woman in a white gown approached the girl and carefully placed a buddle of clothes over the blonde girl's open arms.

"Hi!" The blonde girl spoke, removing some of the clothes to see the face of a newborn in the middle of it. Her voice was a mix between happiness and utter misery. "I'm so sorry." The woman cried with despair, but managed to place a small and watery smile in her lips again. "I hope you find happiness, kid."

Suddenly, Regina froze in place and lost her sight and because of that, Poseidon took advantage of her openness and attacked her with a magic ball. Regina was thrown away by the energy. The attack had been powerful, but soon the black-haired woman managed to stand up again.

"Was that Henry?" Regina asked, with a light smile grazing her lips. Emma understood at that moment that Regina had been able to see her memories. It was like their minds were mixed together as one, so when Emma saw that image in her head, Regina was able to see it as well. She also thought that maybe Regina knew the answer already, but maybe the other woman needed some sort of confirmation.

"Yes." She thought lightly and the smiled in Regina's faced grew bigger. Unexpectedly, Poseidon's trident flew magically again to the hands of his owner and once again he threw it with full strength towards the Queen.

"Are you ready, Miss Swan? This might shake you a little bit!" Regina launched a punch to the air and suddenly the trident clashed against a powerful wall of light that turned the trident into little pieces. Emma felt a powerful pull inside of her and she knew immediately that Regina was using part of her magic in her attack, but she never expected the effect to be so powerful.

"Ok, even I have to admit that was kind of amazing." Regina smiled after analyzing the destructive power of her attack. Emma, on the other hand, was feeling ill and dizzy. The draining of her magic was a horrible sensation. She felt that she was going to be sick, but at the same time she knew that Regina needed her help, so she took a deep breath and waited for Regina's next attack.

"How did you do that?" Poseidon roared in surprised after seeing his trident destroyed by Regina's magic. The raven-haired woman smirked predatorily and sent a defiant look to the King.

"Do what?... This?" Regina threw another punch in the air and magically a wave of blue magic hit Poseidon directly, pushing him to the ground. "Pay attention, Miss Swan. The only way to release the merman from Poseidon's empire is by killing him. This is how it works in our world."

"Are you saying you want to kill him?" Emma was puzzled by the confession. She didn't know if she approved or stood against the witch in this.

"Yes, so-" Before she could end her mental conversation, Poseidon raised to his feet again and in a quick motion, threw a magic ray towards Regina. The former Evil Queen reacted on time and used her hands to protect herself from the attack. However, the ray seemed to be stronger than the ones used before, because when it hit Regina's hands, they were badly burned by the dark energy. The hiss of pain that escaped from Regina's throat was nerve wrecking. Emma instinctual reaction was to scream the witch's name again, but seconds later, Poseidon's huge hands were around Regina's body, immobilizing her completely and halting Emma's cry midway.

"You pathetic little human really thought you could oppose me? I'm a god! And you are going to regret the day you dared to defy me." Poseidon snarled, tightening his grip around Regina's body. Emma could see the distress on the woman's face. The pain. The fear. Emma couldn't handle it anymore.

"Regina! Can you make me feel the pain you are feeling instead of you?" Emma asked in desperation.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Regina asked out loud, a painful growl following her words.

"Just do it!" Emma shouted back. A second later, Emma felt the horrible and painful sensation traveling through her whole body. The pain was so strong that soon it brought her to her knees. Ariel, next to her, kneeled beside her and wrapped her arms around Emma's body in a comforting way. "Now Regina, fight back!" She screamed, ignoring the painful reaction of her own body.

Emma watched how Regina's body started to glow with a bright red light and immediately thereafter, she felt another hot searing pain travel her entire body. Poseidon screamed in agony and opened his hands, releasing Regina. The queen took advantage of that and stepped back, while Poseidon assessed the damage to his hands.

"You petty human! You will pay for this. I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to take care of your fiancée" Poseidon screamed with fury at Regina, who merely scowled at his words. "I bet she'll be tasty…"

"Emma..." Regina's voiced sounded in the blonde's head with resolution and fury. "May I kill him?" Regina asked, while Emma slowly recovered from the last surge of pain that had crossed over her body. Emma chanced a glance at Poseidon and frowned with distaste.

"Fillet the bastard!" Emma's words were filled with disgust and hate. Regina laughed at the choice of words and took a step forward.

"It would have sounded a lot better if I had been the one who said that." Emma smiled at the reply.

"Are you ready to die, little Queen?" Poseidon asked and Regina simply shrugged at the question.

"Maybe… Unfortunately for you, I don't usually play by the rules." Suddenly, Regina's body was surrounded by a purple cloud and she disappeared with it. "You see, your Majesty. I'm not good at physical quarrels. I prefer a more… secure approach." Regina's voice sounded all around the arena. Out of the blue, the purple cloud appeared once again just over Poseidon's head. Regina stood over the god's shoulders and placed her hands at both sides of his neck. "Quick and deadly." Emma felt the pull of magic again, draining her magic from her core. The enchanted earring in Regina's ear twinkled with a faint light before the witch sent a million of electrical red rays through her hands into Poseidon's head. A bright blue light shone from the merman's chest and Emma saw how some sort of crown materialized itself within the bright light. When the blue light faded away, Regina stopped her attack. The woman then jumped to the ground and landed on her feet, while Poseidon's body went rigid and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The whole arena went silent. Regina walked towards the crown and leaned down to pick it up. That was the cue for the sirens to go crazy. Realizing that their King was dead, the sirens quickly started an angry attack against Regina, but it was too late. The Queen raised the crown over her head and proclaimed with poise.

"Mermen, you are free!" Seconds later, the chaos was complete. The mermen were now free and took their stand against the sirens, fighting them away from their new Queen. Within the chaos, Emma couldn't see the black-haired woman and her anxiety returned with full force. All at once, Emma felt a hand over her shoulder and turned to find Triton next to her.

"Come! You have to get out of here!" Triton grabbed her arm and led her out of the crystal prison. Ariel swam past her and reached the witch first. Ariel seemed concerned, but Regina dismissed her preoccupation. Emma and Regina simply looked at each other and nodded in silent acknowledgement. Triton was the last one to approach her and the merman gave her a bright smile, ignoring the current chaos happening just above their heads.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Triton bowed in respect. Regina grimaced and with a quick glance to the crown, the object burst into flames and she let it drop to the floor.

"Believe me, dear, I didn't do it for you." Regina said while grabbing Emma's wrist in her hand. "Come, we have to get the sword." Regina prompted the other woman to follow her, but Emma's sight was fixated on the burning crown on the floor.

She released her hold from Regina, while she watched a bright green jewel fall from the melting crown. Without hesitation, she reached for it. The gem was hot, so she juggled it in her hands until its temperature had dropped to a safe warmth. She saw how an almost magic glow radiated from the gemstone in awe. She was trapped in a long stare when she heard Regina's voice calling out from her. She suddenly aware once more of the battle between sirens and mermen that was happening around her, so she stuck the rock in her front pocket and ran to the big rock placed at the other side of the arena.

"Ok, let's see if saving your pathetic life wasn't a complete waste of time." Regina said, moving next to Emma, who was getting closer to the big stone and the trapped sword.

Emma analyzed the beauty of the sword in surprise. The blade was sky-blue and the hilt of the sword was made of dark-blue painted leather. The guard and the pommel were of pure gold and decorated with small white jewels. Emma glanced at Regina and the woman was frowning at the sword, ignoring her completely. The savior grabbed hold of the hilt with both hands and grounded her feet steadily on the floor. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the sword upward, expecting some sort of resistance, but the sword seemed lighter than a feather in her hands. The extra amount of strength used in her effort made her stumble backwards and fall painfully on her rear.

"Ouch." Emma said, after recovering from her surprise. The blonde woman glared fiercely at the witch when she heard her snorting in amusement.

"Ok, that was totally worth it."

"Oh, shut up!" Emma chastised her, trying to stand up again.

"Good luck and be careful with Pan. He might look like a mere child, but he's anything but innocent." Triton warned them with a concerned look. The merman approached the mermaid who stood by Emma and Regina and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Be happy, Ariel."

The red-haired mermaid nodded with a tight smile and turned to look at the other two women. Regina took the cue and with a swift movement wrapped an arm around Emma's waist pulling their bodies close together.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma groaned with annoyance while she fought to put at least some distance between her and the witch.

"She is taking us to the surface and you don't know how to swim." Regina explained, exasperation clear in her voice at Emma's struggle.

Emma froze in place and Regina could see a cloud of fear reach the green eyes of the sheriff. "Just hang on to me. I'm going to tell you when to hold your breath. Now give me the sword." Emma did as she was told and gave the witch the blue sword. With Triton's aid, Regina wrapped the sword in a piece of cloth and soon moved to wrap it around Emma's chest. The sword swung at her chest like it was a baby.

"Don't lose it!" Regina commanded while bringing the blonde's body closer to her. Emma wrapped an arm around Regina and grabbed hold of the sword with the other.

Ariel took Regina's left hand and before they could say another word, the mermaid swam quickly away from the arena, dragging the women with her. Ariel was swimming really fast, and even though they were in open water, Emma felt like wind was rushing against her body. It felt like they were flying. Suddenly, Emma felt Regina's hold tightening around her waist.

"Now take a deep breath at three." Emma buried her head against Regina and waited warily for the count down. "One, two… three!" Emma took a deep breath and a second later she felt her body engulfed in water that felt more real than the one within the city limits. The water felt heavy and the pressure of the speed was nearly painful. The fear she immediately felt pushed her to wrap her legs around Regina's body as well.

Emma tried to open her eyes at one point, but all she could see were white bubbles around her. It was over a minute and a half of swimming and she felt like her lungs were about to explode. Her whole body was racked and wrenched with an insupportable anguish. She cursed her weak lungs while she fisted her hands against Regina's coat. Fear was drowning her when she felt herself break the surface.

Her head emerged; her eyes were momentarily blinded by the sunlight; her chest expanded convulsively for a sweet she drew a deep breath to her lungs, enjoying every second of it. Her lungs engulfed a great draught of air, which instantly she expelled in a shriek! She could hear Regina gasping at her side, while the woman at the same time fought to keep them floating over the water's surface. Now that the pain in her lungs had subsided, Emma noticed the huge island not far from them. They were very close to the shore, so Regina and Ariel didn't wait any time and started to drag themselves to the beach.

They were safe at last.

For now…

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A/N: In chapter five, we will finally learn what the Legend of the White Heart is!

Please review!