Keeping off the main road Snow led Charming and a disguised Regina toward the village that the Evil Queen had terrorized the previous morning. Most of the villagers, like Geppetto, greeted Snow excitedly but a few did not. As much as they might want Snow White as their Queen or at least believed her innocent of the crimes she was accused of, they couldn't help feel some bitterness over the fact if they were to give up Snow the Evil Queen might leave them in peace. The three bartered with the locals and ended up exchanging one of their horses and some gold for a wagon large enough for Snow and Charming to ride in without being seen. Regina would have to continue playing the part of servant and drive them.
"Forgive me dear," Regina offered false apologies when she steered the horse to another dip in the road and heard Snow give a little squeal. Charming was also amused by Snow's discomfort.
"You are really enjoying this aren't you Charming?"
"It is not my fault your face is plastered on every tree in this forest."
Snow rolled her eyes but it was true, she knew many people would be willing to turn her in for the reward the Evil Queen offered. They hit another bump and she protectively clutched a small vial an action that did not go unnoticed by David.
"What's that around your neck?" He asked. "I thought you weren't the jewelry type."
"Don't worry about it." Snow turned away but David lunged forward and grabbed the bottle. "No! Careful, that's a weapon."
Charming laughed, "Dust?"
"Fairy dust. From a dark fairy." Snow explained. "It transforms the most fearsome adversaries into a form that is easily squashed. I'm saving it for someone special."
Regina had been listening and even without David asking she knew the 'someone special' was her, but even with her memories blurred Regina would have sworn Snow never used fairy dust against her. Perhaps, Regina thought, Snow ended up using the fairy dust on someone else and for some reason the idea offended her. Snow was supposed to have been her mortal enemy how dare she. It was probably for that best though, dark fairy dust was dark magic, and dark magic was her strong suit not Snow's.
Snow and Charming had continued their conversation while Regina stayed lost in thought until David asked, "What did you do to incur the Queen's wrath?"
"She blames me for ruining her life…"
"Did you?"
"Yes."
Regina wasn't sure when she had started holding her breath but now she needed air. Deep down Regina had always known it wasn't really Snow's fault for what happened to Daniel but it was easier to blame the girl than to blame her mother or herself. A part of Regina, the same part that had risked her life to save that young girl on a runaway horse, wanted to tell her former stepdaughter that it wasn't her fault. Regina knew Daniel died because he loved her and Cora couldn't accept that.
"Are you alright?" Snow walked up and place her hand on Regina's arm.
At some point in the last few minutes Regina had jumped down from her seat at the front of the carriage and now she was standing bracing herself against a tree trunk. Her chest tightened further when she realized this was long before she had ever told Snow about Daniel's death. So much of the time Regina would see Leopold's false kindness and honor in Snow but at this moment she could only see Emma and the blonde genuine yet idiotic good heart. The moment was ruined though when Regina caught sight of that fairy dust. Even if Snow accepted the blame for ruining Regina's life she was still willing to kill her... Of course Regina had been willing to kill Snow too...
"I'm fine." Regina snapped when she realized Snow was still staring at her.
"Are you sure?" Of course Charming had to come over to check on her too.
"Yes. I was… I was just worried about my Princess." It was the first thing Regina could think of as an excuse. An excuse she instantly regretted when she saw a curious look in Snow's eye and a smirk form on David's face. "Let's just keep going."
"No need." Snow had walked back to the middle of the road. "We're here."
"Fine." Regina began walking toward the castle ready to have David stop grinning at her like an idiot.
"We're going to need help getting past those guards. Wait here, we'll go at night. I'll be back with help." Snow didn't wait for their response before jogging into the woods.
"Your Princess huh?" David asked once they were alone.
"You really are charming aren't you?" Regina responded sarcastically, giving up on pretense of treating David like royalty.
David just laughed good-naturedly, "So I've been told."
The sun was already starting to set and Snow had still not returned. They had moved the wagon deeper into the forest so that it wouldn't be seen from the main road. Unfortunately it was getting colder and the desire to remain hidden was paling in their desire to remain warm. Regina had ignored David's attempts at conversation for first few hours until he'd finally given up, but now the silence was starting to get to her.
"So... Are you excited about marrying Kath… Princess Abigail?" Regina asked.
David either didn't notice the slip up or just choice to ignore it. "She's King Midas's daughter, what's not to be excited about?"
His tone was flat and Regina didn't need a superpower to tell that he wasn't in love with Abigail. Of course she already knew that. "Forgive me your highness but I don't believe you."
"This just feels like a business transaction, a merger of two kingdoms." He flicked a twig into the fire. "I always thought I would marry for love… I don't know. This whole ordeal makes me wonder if there is even such a thing as True Love…"
"Oh True Love is real…" Regina had always believed that, even as the Evil Queen she had never doubted the power of True Love. The belief in its power only strengthened as she saw what it could do. "You just don't always get to marry the one you love…"
"Yes, well my father is making things quite difficulty for me."
Regina had never really noticed how alike her life was to David's. She didn't know what deal had been made that turned him from shepherd to prince but she did know his adoptive father, King George, was similar to Cora. They believe marriage was about politics and not about love.
"Princess Leia, the one we're rescuing, is she the love you can't marry?" David asked.
"What? No. That's absurd." Regina felt her face turn red as she denied it. "Of all of the ridiculous… I mean…"
"So I take it her parents would not approve of the marriage."
"Of course not, and for more reasons than you kn-." Regina noticed David's overconfident smile and realized she had unwittingly entertained the idea that she would want to marry Emma. "No, there is nothing between me and the Princess. Nothing."
"Well, now you must forgive me because I don't believe you."
"I don't care what you believe." Regina crossed her arms.
"Fine then, if you can give me one good reason why you have taken it upon yourself to rescue Princess Leia then I will let this go."
Regina clenched her fists in frustration, there was a very good reason she had to be one to rescue Emma but it wasn't like she was able to actually tell him what it was. Fortunately Regina was saved from having to continue the conversation because someone was approaching the campsite.
"Red?" Regina had actually been expecting the dwarves.
"Have we met?" The werewolf asked.
I'm getting as bad as Emma. She thought to herself while trying to come up with an excuse. "There was an older woman in the village who asked Snow about someone named Red… I just assumed and with the cloak…"
Red gave Regina a suspicious look but decided to move on," Yes, my name is Red. Snow sent me to help you get into the castle."
For a moment Regina wondered where Snow was, but then she realized that the break in might cause enough of a distraction for her to attack The Evil Queen. This was not going to work out well for Snow, but Regina didn't have time worry about her right now she had to get to Emma.
Ok so here's the thing... Spooky Empire is this weekend. Don't know what that is? Well, the most important thing to know is that Lana is going to be there and because of that so will I. The other thing is that I will also be starting a new job on Tuesday so I want to let everyone to know I will finish this story but I'm not sure when I'm going to have the next update ready for you. Hope everyone sticks with me :)
