A little over one month! My updating schedule has really been top-notch, so celebrate! Another update to further this story.
Also I'm stoked that everyone seems to be liking the pace I've set out, and I hope that this chapter is entertaining to everyone!
So please, enjoy!
One week had passed before Emma dared to approach the Dark Kingdom in the middle of the night. By now she was convinced that the royal she had escorted had been the infamous Evil Queen, considering that Red had come over the day following Emma's adventure to let them know that it was safe, and that the Queen had arrived the day before.
What had puzzled her parents, as well as Red and other members of the village - all who formed Storybrooke's Council - was that the Queen hadn't been seen arriving at her palace with her carriage, but rather had magicked herself there, according to what Red had overheard from the palace workers who frequented the Inn's tavern. No one in the Dark Kingdom had seen the carriage the Queen had left in, and Emma was thankful that by the time she had returned to the site of the fire, the carriage was gone, probably looted by another band of bandits for scrap parts.
Her parents had grilled her once she had returned to Storybrooke, asking where she had been. Emma made up a story that the carriage had been empty when she had reached it, musing that perhaps the person inside had escaped or was burned to a crisp. While returning, she explained that she had found a group of travelers headed to the Ashen Mountains and she decided to escort them to the edge of the Forest, putting her far away from the Dark Kingdom, as well as giving her an alibi in the form of companions that would never be seen again.
But the questions just kept on coming: why hadn't she found a way to contact them, was she careful, was there any chance the Evil Queen had been nearby or orchestrated anything, could the carriage have been the Evil Queen's, did she see anyone after the fire was put out, why didn't she come back to the village right away? Emma had been there for more than 3 hours sitting at a table across from her parents, answering the questions convincingly enough. It wasn't as if there would be too many repercussions if she did tell the truth. She was too much of an important and competent figure to be kept away from missions, so bookkeeping duty would be the worst she would be faced with, and she already did that anyway. But she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to keep visiting the royal, something that surely would never happen if she told her parents the truth.
Thankfully she didn't have to corroborate with Neal and Henry to make sure her story matched with their tale. Neal, as it turned out, had a small concussion, plus his injuries and burns were healing slowly, Simon's salves could only do so much; his mild concussion meant that he had forgotten what happened that day before he was knocked unconscious. Henry hadn't actually seen anything, just what he'd been told by Neal before he had run off to the village and found Emma.
Now, Emma had been coming back from a solo mission in a small village near the Hinterlands, and night had fallen. She saw that the Dark Kingdom was nearby, and she smirked. She would visit the royal and then crash with Red in the Inn. She guided Ban towards the stables outside the kingdom, giving the stable boy there just enough for the night. She didn't want to attract attention to herself by giving too much money; after all, this kingdom was off-limits to their activities, for nothing would be worse than incurring the wrath of the Evil Queen. Or so her mother parroted. Of course, the Lupine Night Inn and Tavern was a safe haven for them, despite its less than stellar location. The general rule they tried to keep was: the less the Evil Queen knew about them, the better.
So the fact that Emma was currently making her way to the Evil Queen's castle, after having survived last week's adventure unscathed, was making her a serious candidate for someone with a death wish.
But as she weaved through the shadows, keeping her hooded head down and staying quiet as drunks paraded down the road and others were tiredly headed home after a long day of work, she honestly couldn't see herself missing this opportunity. She had promised herself that she would visit, and teasing the royal - apart from playing with fire and bringing her one step closer to her grave - was pure entertainment.
Once she reached the castle walls, she made her way to what seemed like a quieter side of the perimeter, which meant less chance of her being caught. The thief waited until the patrolling guard passed, nocked an arrow - with rope attached to the end of it - onto her bow, and fired it into a mortar groove near the top of the stone wall. Checking that the arrow was sturdy by pulling on the rope, she quickly climbed, and once she was safely on top of the ledge, she freed the arrow, putting it away once more into her quiver and dropped down the other side. She looked around and surprisingly saw that there was no guard here. In fact, this seemed like a very private garden, with only one way out, and that was through the open french doors and into the castle. Slowly padding through the garden, Emma saw that the interior was a luxurious bedroom, probably the Queen's bedroom.
Indeed, sitting on a chaise, sipping some wine while reading a book, was the very comfortable figure of the royal she had accompanied. Sometimes she could have impeccable luck.
"You know," Emma started, leaning against the frame of the open doors, crossing her arms and planting a smirk on her face, "If I knew that's how well guests were treated in the Dark Kingdom, I'd fake my way in here and start living the life."
She hadn't even finished her quip before the brunette had stood quickly, depositing the items she had been holding, body tense and all signs of relaxation long gone as a fireball engulfed her right hand, the chaise in front of her serving as a barrier. Then she saw who it was and her snarl loosened just the slightest bit, grinding out a terse, "You."
Emma gave a mock bow, but made no attempt to enter the room. "The one and only. Though I'm surprised, your Highness, I thought you said you didn't possess powers?"
Regina quickly extinguished the ball of fire in her hand, but was still alert. Despite having helped her a week before, there was no telling if the thief was going to use this to try and rob her blind, trying to get her guard down first. Though if that was the thief's plan, she had another thing coming, because if there was one thing that Regina wasn't, was a fool. "Considering that you clearly removed the manacle from me that stunted my powers, I'm surprised you ask."
"And yet, you didn't use your powers, or question it, throughout that morning at all."
"I had no need to, and besides, I don't believe I am required to inform you of my powers."
The thief just continued to smirk. "Perhaps not, though I don't believe that was your real reason for keeping the fact from me."
No, it wasn't the real reason, the thief was right. But Regina wasn't ready to admit that it was because she had enjoyed the thief's company, and was certain that a display of her power would get the hooded woman to see her differently, as well as cut their travel together shorter. "Again, why does it matter?"
"You let me teach you sword-fighting."
"You were insisting."
"I was under the impression you would be interested in being able to defend yourself, with something other than magic," Emma retorted.
"Perhaps I was curious. But enough games. What do you want, thief?"
"Apart from wanting to confirm that you are indeed the Queen residing in this castle, I did say I would visit. So, may I come in?"
Regina finally moved around the chaise, drawing her robe tighter to herself, and asked in an exasperated voice, "So you can rob me?"
The thief shook her head, putting her hands in a placating gesture. "No, I give you my word that I will not rob nor hurt you."
She raised an eyebrow, "And who said anything about hurting?"
"Your body language, your Highness. Your drew your robe closer to yourself, commonly seen as a sign of discomfort, fear, and wanting to protect oneself."
"You seem well-versed on body language," Regina said, giving the smallest of an impressed smirk.
"I am, I study my marks closely, and have picked up a thing or two over the years," Emma shrugged nonchalantly, before adding hurriedly, "Not that you're a mark, I'm merely explaining that I've studied people at length."
"I see. And, should I invite you in, what would you plan on doing?"
"I figured you might want another round of training to sword-fight."
"An interesting plan that doesn't really hold much weight now that you know I have magic."
"Your Highness, as you have probably surmised, I was well-aware that you knew magic by the time I offered you that lesson in the Grove, but I still thought you were interested in learning to fight using a sword."
Regina pondered it for a bit, and decided that she would indulge in this activity for a bit. "Very well, but we'll do it outside, there's more space than my room."
Emma nodded, and took a step back, though she was internally musing that the Queen's entire suite was probably bigger than her cabin.
She saw some purple smoke, and the robe was gone, instead the Queen was elegantly dressed in riding pants, leather boots, and a simple cotton tunic, hair pulled away from her face and into a ponytail. Emma thought that the royal looked absolutely gorgeous right then, but decided to keep those thoughts to herself.
Emma had brought along an extra sword in case the royal would agree to the lesson, and was glad that it hadn't been in vain.
Regina stepped outside to the clear late summer night, and said, "Come, there's a nice place where we can practise."
The thief followed, and soon saw a beautiful apple tree on the edge of a paved courtyard; the space was plenty expansive for them to practise, Emma only saw one problem, "Won't it be a bit dark? The tree blocks out the moonlight."
The Queen just gave Emma a smirk over her shoulder, and made a circular motion with her hand. Suddenly a dozen stone lanterns resting on pedestals were lighted, filling the area with a warm glow.
Emma let out a low whistle as the Queen turned to look at her, smirking. "Impressed?"
"I'll be more impressed if you can land a touch on me," Emma said, unsheathing the sword at her waist and handing it - hilt out - towards the royal.
"Very well," Regina responded, taking the sword and getting into stance, while Emma reached behind her left shoulder for the sword strapped to her back.
"First to get a touch wins the round. Ready?"
Regina nodded, and they began parrying.
Emma was impressed, the royal seemed to have remembered her lessons from the week before, but she still managed to get the first touch.
"Not bad, let's go again. Remember, try to economize on your moves and be more direct. Superfluous moves will only mean more time to react, meaning less time to counter and defend yourself."
She only received a stiff nod, and the thief saw that the royal had a determined look on her face.
As they began to practise once more, they managed to last longer than before, but once more Emma managed to get a touch in first.
Regina let out a huff. "This is impossible."
The thief shook her head. "It's not impossible, you're still learning."
Regina saw the thief step forward, making a gesture towards her. "May I?"
"Yes," Regina said, nodding once.
Emma went to stand behind the brunette, putting her own sword back in its scabbard. "Stand on top of my feet."
Regina whipped around to look at the thief, confusion and apprehension evident. "What?"
"Just trust me. Turn around, and stand on my boots."
The thief was glad that the royal wasn't wearing heeled boots as she heeded her instructions. Her boots might be resistant, but even they had a limit. She rested her chin on the brunette's right shoulder, and gently placed her left hand over the queen's taut stomach. She felt the tiniest of tremors from the Queen as her hand settled over the shirt, and again as her right hand clasped over the Queen's hand which held the sword.
"It's okay, I've got you," Emma said softly, before she said, a bit louder, "Now, the point is to angle your body so your right side is facing outward. Unless you have a shield, then it's better to alternate or have your left further out for protection. Now watch."
Together, Emma managed to move both of them, keeping the royal in place flush against her with her left arm, while she put the other woman through some moves using her right arm and feet to improve the fluidity of her actions while fighting. "See the difference?"
Due to their proximity, Emma felt more than heard the hum of agreement.
"Okay, now let's try to practise it." She unwound her arm from around the royal's stomach, signifying that Regina should step down, though neither was truly happy about adding distance to their previously very comfortable proximity.
"Like before, first touch wins."
Their swords clashed as they practically danced around each other, both advancing in calculated moves, keeping their eyes trained not only on each other, but on the sword the other was holding. Emma couldn't help but grin as she saw the content smile breaking across the royal's face.
She'd forever say that she had let the other woman win, and that it certainly wasn't being distracted by the brunette's beauty, when the sword the royal held managed to make a scratch down her left arm as Emma fell for a feint.
"Impressed now?" Regina asked with a smirk.
"Indeed," the thief said, grinning at her. She put her sword away, as well as the Queen's sword back in the scabbard on her hip, and went to look at the wound. It was superficial and would heal in a few days probably. There was probably some healing balm stuffed somewhere in Ban's saddle bag that she could rifle through tomorrow.
"Thank you."
The thief gave a small bow. "You're very welcome."
She saw that the royal bit her lip a bit, glancing at the wound. The usually confident and collected Queen was clearly nervously mulling over something, so Emma decided that she would try to help by prompting, "Are you alright, your Highness?"
"Hmm?" the royal hummed, looking up at the hooded figure. "I was just wondering if you'd let me...heal you."
Emma tilted her head inquisitively. "You'd do that for me?"
"Yes."
She held out her left arm closer to the royal. "Thank you."
"Well I hurt you, it's only fair I heal you."
Right then, Emma was trying to see where the whole Evil Queen persona fit in to this. Except perhaps for the first few minutes when she had shown up, she hadn't seen this supposed Evil Queen that everyone feared and her mother spoke terrors of. She was a bit guarded, but then again, so was Emma. The royal hadn't even seen her face and despite her status as a thief, still trusted her to not pull one over her. Or at the very least, gave her the benefit of the doubt.
"There, all done." While Emma had been musing, her wound had been healed. The skin around there was still a bit red, but as she touched it, it felt smooth and there was no sting of pain.
"Thank you once more. I should probably take my leave. Would her Highness object to me showing up again?"
Regina smirked. "Depends, would your ego be able to take another defeat at my hands?"
The thief gave a bark of laughter. "One lucky shot in and you already believe yourself a master at this."
"I believe it was much more than just a lucky shot, thief."
"Whatever you wish to believe, your Highness." Emma then decided to throw caution into the wind and quickly went to kiss the royal on the cheek. "Have a good night."
Regina was left stunned in the middle of her courtyard, watching as a green-clad thief expertly shot an arrow onto one of the walls surrounding the garden, and climb to the top before dropping down and disappearing into the night.
The next time Emma was near the Dark Kingdom, was eight days after her last encounter at the Queen's garden.
She had finally lost the tail of guards from Lord Vincent's Estate, and Ban was properly worn out. They were both sporting some injuries from the couple of arrows that whizzed past them as they missed their mark, adding to their exhaustion. It was still light out so Emma just jumped down from her horse and kept her hooded head down as she went with Ban through the village, towards the Lupine Night Inn. It was busy enough that no one spared her a second glance, plus it was common to see travelers that kept to themselves without showing their faces.
As they passed through the market, Ban nudged her as they passed by a vendor selling apples.
"Needy aren't you?" Emma grumbled, turning to the stall.
"Are you alright?"
Emma looked up and saw a young woman with auburn hair looking relatively surprised at seeing that her new customer was hurt. "Yeah just fine, how much for an apple? This guy here seems to have got his eyes on them."
The woman chuckled at this, seeing Emma point to her horse, who snorted in response.
"One silver coin."
She fished out 2 silver coins from her pouch and handed them to the woman, flashing a smile. "Two coins for two apples then. Thank you very much."
Emma grabbed the two reddest apples she could find and handed one out to her horse, who took a hearty bite out of it. "Oh come on, at least leave my hand, you goof."
She turned back at seeing the shopkeeper snort in laughter, hiding it behind her hand.
Giving another smile, she said, "Can you believe this guy? You'd think I didn't feed him."
Bandit seemed to have other ideas and wasn't interested in chit-chat, so with his head, he tried to nudge Emma along.
"And he's pushy too. Thank you once more for the apples!"
"You know your mother would have an attack if she saw you eating an apple, right?" Red asked, putting down a plate on the table where Emma sat, putting salve on her arms.
"I think she'd have a bigger attack seeing these wounds."
"True, you need to be more careful Emma."
She glared at the woman with a bored look. "Honestly? You're going to do the mother thing in her honour right now?"
"Well I am your aunt," Red smirked as she responded.
Emma, by way of responding, took another bite of her apple. After a few seconds, she said, "Yeah and I'm currently in my undershirt in the Inn's unused stable trying to do a damage assessment, so I think I'm a little beyond caring right about now."
The stable was actually quite roomy, it had space for a few horses and spacious rooms with comfy beds that were exclusively available for Storybrooke's residents. It was also beneficiary for Granny and Red, since they didn't need to have any written record of having lodged outlaws by keeping them in what was officially considered a storage area.
And indeed there were supplies scattered all over, along with boxes and crates with fresh ingredients needed for food stored there. Red continued watching as the blonde finished putting the ointment on her skin, and then sunk onto the chair that had her signature green jacket draped over it. Resting on the table were her quiver with arrows, her belt with pouches, as well as her trusty bow and sword.
"How is Ban?"
"He's fine, being a bit melodramatic over the wounds, but I put some of the salve on him and he's resting now. I gave him one of the apples so he's got some food on him until dinner comes."
Red grinned and nodded. "Alright, dinner will be served in an hour or so. Meanwhile, these sweet buns should tide you over."
Emma waved it off with a swift thanks, reaching for the jacket and pulling it in front of her. "No worries, I'll just be here patching this jacket up. It got a bit torn up in the escape."
The brunette waitress just shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully.
By the time Emma was done with her dinner and had returned the plate to Red, night had fallen, she quickly donned her jacket and pulled up her hood, fastening her weapons on her back. She also made sure to grab the extra sword from Ban's saddle bags.
She made the exact same process as the last time, and once she came to stand at the open doors, she noted that the Queen was certainly not having a good day.
"Is this a bad time?" she asked, smirking as she saw that the royal had been furiously pacing.
"No, some sword-fighting will do me some good." Without so much as a proper greeting, the brunette stalked over to the door, the smoke engulfing her momentarily as she walked, changing her clothes from the intricate dress she had been wearing to a similar outfit as the last time they had practised. Once she was standing in front of Emma, the other woman practically ripped the sword out of the scabbard by her waist, and pushed past the thief, going towards the courtyard beneath the apple tree without even glancing back to see if Emma would follow.
Emma blinked and then trailed after the clearly angry woman. To be honest, she was still exhausted from her escape from Lord Vincent and his men. But she still pulled out her own sword and faced the other woman. She couldn't help but dread that this was a terrible idea.
And by the first five minutes, Emma could see proof of why this was a bad idea. The Queen was lashing out, using the sword as an extension of her anger, blindly swiping at Emma as though she were the cause of her problems - or at least, Emma hoped she wasn't the cause of the problems.
"Stop," Emma calmly stated, blocking another jab with the clanking of metal.
Nothing. The royal hadn't said a word after taking the sword, and she saw that the lanterns that lit up courtyard were burning ferociously, a mirror to what the woman must be feeling.
Deciding to take a more direct approach, Emma sheathed her sword, and as the Queen went to attack once more, Emma grabbed the blade of the other sword, and gripped it tight, thankful that her leather gloves were resistant enough that the metal wouldn't cut through.
After a few seconds of struggling, trying to release the weapon from the thief's grip, Regina finally turned to look at the hooded woman, a relatively wild look in her eyes.
"Stop," Emma repeated, stepping closer, still keeping a tight grip on the sword.
"Why?" Regina ground out, chest heaving from the exertion.
"Because this is not proper sword-fighting, this is just whacking away like a mad-woman, and you'll not achieve anything apart from exhausting yourself."
"Maybe I do not wish to fight properly tonight and just forget."
By now, they were standing mere centimetres apart, the sword vertical, being held between them. "What's wrong?" she softly asked.
Regina scoffed. "And why do you care, thief? I believed your purpose was to steal, not listen to a Queen's problems."
"You know, when I'm not donning this hood, I spend my time living as a human being, whose function - among many others - is to care of others and show compassion. Or if you're not up for sharing, I've heard I give some great hugs."
She gave the smallest snorts of amusement. What were the chances that a mysterious thief would be the one to get her to smile. She had spent the entire day just ignoring or outright figuratively barking at anyone to leave her be, and now here she was, seriously considering the offer for a hug.
"It's fine. It has just been a stressful day. Perhaps we should just call it a day."
Emma felt the sword go back in its scabbard, but kept her eyes on the Queen the entire time. As the brunette lowered her head and started to walk off, Emma decided that she would risk the consequences.
She turned around. Reaching out, she grasped the Queen's wrist, and lightly pulled her back towards her. There came a muffled cry of confusion as the royal's palms made contact with her chest, but Emma just wrapped her arms around the other woman, pulling her closer, engulfing her in a hug.
After a few seconds, she grinned as the royal relaxed in the embrace. She could've sworn she heard a quiet "thank you" murmured onto her chest, but to ask for clarification would mean ending the moment, and Emma wanted to experience this for a little bit longer.
Regina meanwhile, was stunned into silence, and hoped that her brief and quiet murmur of thanks wasn't heard. She felt safe here. Sure she had allies, people that she could consider friends, but they weren't around all the time, and although this was only the third time interacting with the thief, something about her just made it easy to trust her. Maybe that was her gimmick. Trustworthy, outgoing personality, easy to talk to, and then next thing they knew, they were robbed blind.
Telling herself that she needed to keep her distance, Regina pushed herself away from the embrace, and glanced up at the hooded figure. She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you."
Beneath the hood, Regina could see the thief's genuine grin, before she responded, "You're welcome. You looked like you needed a hug."
Regina sighed, "I should probably head back to my room."
"I will accompany you to your door."
The royal gave small smirk. "Afraid someone will try to attack me in my private gardens?"
Emma shrugged, "You can never be too careful, after all, I managed to get in here just fine."
The brunette rolled her eyes playfully. "My hero."
They walked side by side towards the Queen's room. Once there, Emma gave the royal a quick peck on the cheek, and once more ran off over the wall and into the village.
Emma had been sitting at the dinner table, while her mother was finishing preparing dinner. Although Emma had her own cabin, she still graced her parents every night that she was in the village by visiting them for dinner. It was the little things that kept them as a family, however dysfunctional it may be that a 28-year old woman had parents that were 2 years older than she was.
"You've been very pensive today, is everything alright?" her father asked.
"Yeah, I've just been wondering...why not visit the Dark Kingdom and try to help the people?"
From the looks on her parents' faces, it was clear that it wasn't the first time Emma had suggested this. She'd been suggesting it even before she met the Queen.
"You know why Emma. If the Evil Queen finds out..." Snow began to explain.
"Look, I'm not saying we go in there to rob. Just to help them. We have a surplus of money that we could definitely use to help the people in that Kingdom, because when I was there yesterday, there were so many people that I wanted to help, and isn't that our motto? To help those who need it? Or one of them at least? We shouldn't let her intimidate us."
David and Snow felt a surge of pride, their girl was so smart, even if they had missed getting to teach her.
"Very well," Snow acquiesced. "You can get a team ready as our circus troupe, make a show and all that. Though you first need to get the Queen's approval with a letter of permission."
"Sounds good, I'll go tomorrow."
"You're not planning on going to give her a letter personally?!" David asked, eyes widening in shock.
Emma leveled them with a glare. "Seriously? I know better than that, I meant that I would drop it off at the Dark Kingdom's post office is all."
She actually was going to drop it off personally, just for the heck of it. Getting to see the gorgeous brunette was a bonus. Not to mention that Emma had been worried about the royal's attitude from yesterday, and wanted to check up on her.
"Either those papers did something to you, or you're thinking way too hard." As was customary, Emma greeted the royal from her spot in the doorway, never actually entering the room.
Regina whipped around at the familiar voice, letting the smallest of smiles grace her face before she stood up and made her way closer to where the thief stood. "It's just been a long day today."
"And it's not even evening yet. Must be one hell of a day you've had."
"The life of a Queen is not a simple one."
"Figured as much," Emma smirked, casually leaning against the doorway. She cleared her throat, not knowing how to tackle the subject. "I actually wanted to ask you a favour..."
Regina looked over at the green-clad thief, noting that this time, she had only come over with one sword. So this was purely a business visit. Requests were asked of the Queen during court, and deliberated within the following days. Coming here to personally ask for a favour usually meant that either the request was unusual or very personal; or the thief was banking on using her 'connection' to the Queen to see if her request could be dealt with swiftly. For both their sakes, Regina hoped that it was the former. A few sword-fighting lessons did not make them friends or worthy of favours.
Though she did save your life, her mind riposted. But she ignored it as she quirked her head inquiringly. "Oh really? And what could you possibly ask of me?"
"It's a letter of request...for the circus to visit the Dark Kingdom," Emma explained, holding out an envelope with the letter inside it.
"The circus? And what could you possibly have to do with a circus?" Regina tried to keep her anger down, not moving to take the letter being held out to her. Was this really all she was useful for?
"Well...I'm part of it," Emma said after a few seconds of deliberation.
"Oh really? And pray tell, thief, are you not aware that there is an order as to how you go about asking for favours from the Queen?"
Emma gave the slightest of flinches at the tone before putting her hands up in a placating gesture, letter still being held in her right one. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I was technically supposed to mail this to the post office and let it reach through the normal channels, but I wanted to see you."
"Y-you did?" Regina asked, the slightest tremors to her voice.
The thief nodded. "Yeah, you had me a bit worried from yesterday, so I thought, why the hell not, I'll drop this off and get to see you. And then when I go to the post office to pick up the response in a few days, I'll visit you again."
Regina's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Wait, you're not here to get an answer now?"
"What? Oh gods no! I just wanted to spare myself the trouble dealing with the postal service attendant, who I've heard can be quite difficult to work with. Did you think that I was?"
The brunette murmured, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone has tried to."
Emma put the letter away, and dared to step inside, walking over to put her hands on the Queen's upper arms. "Hey, I'm not here to take advantage of you, okay? I just wanted to drop it off and see if you were okay. Maybe do some stress-relief with swords if you're up for it..."
The Queen looked up at her and smirked, "And with what sword do you propose I do that?"
Emma instantly blanched, realizing that she hadn't brought an extra sword. "Shit..." She gave a sheepish smile and said, "How would you like to learn how to shoot a bow?"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're slowly trying to train me into joining your merry band of outlaws."
"Well, there goes my plans, foiled," the thief smirked. "I'd probably just ask you if you wanted to join."
It was then that Emma first heard a truly wondrous sound, and that was the Queen's laugh.
"So what do you say, are bow and arrows too much for you?"
"Just like the sword was? Admit it, you didn't want to face defeat at my hands again," Regina haughtily responded.
"One lucky shot..." the thief groaned.
Before they could say anything else, a knock was heard at the door.
Regina gave a loud sigh before yelling towards the door, "Just a minute!"
"Well I suppose that is my cue to leave. So I'll leave this here for you," - she put the envelope at the table already filled with papers - "and I'll come back to pick it up in a few days and check up on you okay?" As had become customary, Emma gave the brunette a quick peck on the cheek, and left.
Regina wheeled around and walked over to the door, intending to give whoever was at the door a piece of her mind. She wrenched the door open and glared at her advisor standing in front of her door. "What?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Vincent is requesting your help in dealing with a pest," Sidney Glass said after bowing low.
She rolled her eyes. "And what does the pompous Lord require this time?"
"The Shadow Thief has apparently been stealing from his estate for months, your Majesty. He is requesting for more guards to be sent over."
"Who is this 'Shadow Thief'? Why is this the first time I've heard of them, or of these robberies?"
Sidney cleared his throat, "Well, your Majesty, no one really knows who the thief is. All they know is that the thief wears dark green, and only targets the rich and powerful. Rumours also go that they get the stolen money and hand it out to the needy and other peasants. So far they've managed to avoid capture, and their exploits have generally been outside your kingdom. But Lord Vincent believes that he can ask for your help in this."
Regina pursed her lips. Of course he would think that. This was the kind of attitude she was used to. People trying to use their relations with her for favours. "Tell Lord Vincent that should he require help, he can do so during court, and that I shall consider his request then. I do not grant favours Sidney, as you should know by now. If that is all?"
"Yes your Majesty, my apologies for disturbing you."
Once the door closed, Regina set to wonder. She opened the envelope the thief had dropped off, and stared at the letter, requesting for the Enchanting Circus to come visit for 5 days. Oh this would be very interesting.
Woo! This was a long chapter, but I felt that it was necessary, plus building their relationship visit by visit.
They just need to kiss, don't you think?
So what do you think of 'Lupine Night', 'Enchanting Circus' and 'Shadow Thief'? Too corny and cheesy?
Next up, the circus comes to the Dark Kingdom!
Will Regina visit? Who knows...
Anyway! Next up, I leave to you with a show of hands/reviews: who wants a double update for this fic?
Let me know if you do! Otherwise I'll update Kissing Booth next and Such a Heavenly View!
Just as a note 'cause I've been doing it for all my fics, I'm planning for this to be a relatively long-ish fic, 30 chapters give or take.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and letting me know what you think makes me a very happy author!