*The usual, I do not claim to own any of the characters or the the world they inhabit. I only do this for fun.

*Also, sorry it always seems to be so long between updates, but I am currently working on this and my other story at the same time. And life tends to get in the way of writing.

Chapter 7

Slamming into her own chambers Regina manifests a fireball and throws it angrily into the cold hearth where it explodes harmlessly, lighting the tinder even as it dies in a shower of sparks.

She had convinced herself that she didn't care about the princess anymore, and that taking her was only a means of hurting Snow.

The agony now ripping through her soul revealed that thought for the lie it was.

The moment she had laid eyes on Emma again she had known that carrying out her plan was a mistake, but in the absence of a better plan she had forged ahead.

Sinking down on the velvet sofa Regina pressed a fist to her mouth as if to stifle sobs that wouldn't come.

At times like this she wished she were a dragon like Maleficent, so that she could go and destroy a few towns with her own hands.

Her magic, her power, was a colder thing, even though she was more than capable of conjuring fire when she wanted it.

It was not like causing destruction with your own hands, because it was only ever the magic that "touched" the item or person she was hurting.

When Daniel had been killed she had thought her heart had died with him.

And later, when she had become the Evil Queen, she had been sure that whatever remained of that heart had blackened and withered in her chest.

And yet, even now, when she was sure she had been betrayed, her heart still beat for the blonde princess.

And that was the greatest mystery of all.

She had taken Emma, intending to hurt her in order to hurt Snow.

Now, however, she wasn't sure if she could go through with it.

It was definitely a first for her.

There was only one way she could be sure she could do it, but she would have to take out her own heart.

That was the only thing she had sworn, both in her past and her present life, that she would never do.

Because keeping her heart intact was the one thing that kept her from being just like her mother . . .

No, she would not remove her heart she decided.

For now Snow would suffer enough just worrying over her daughter's fate.

The evening, she thought, had been quite a success already.

The look on Snow and Phillip's faces had been priceless.

Just the thought of their looks of horror as she had stolen Emma from right under their noses brought a wicked smile to her face.

With a wave of her hand she set the table in her suite with a feast worthy of a queen, and large enough to feed a family, and sat down to dine.

For now she needed to think of a few surprises to leave for anyone who might go looking for her at the cottage.

Even though the queen was alone, the only other person in the castle being Emma, she reigned in her emotions, reverting to the mannerisms and training her mother had given her.

To the casual observer it would have looked as if she was completely in control.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Inside, her emotions were at war with each other and her need for revenge was stomping all over everything else.

Regina was anything but calm.

And eventually she would have to see Emma, if nothing else she would have to feed the woman, because here there were no servants to delegate the job to.

Tomorrow, she told herself, by then she should have regained at least some of her senses with regards to the blonde princess.

After she had eaten she used her magic to clear away the remains of the meal and the took herself off to the cottage to lay a few traps.

She was careful to leave only traps that would injure and not outright kill, after all, she wanted Snow and Phillip to suffer, not die quickly.

***Emma's POV***

The first thing Emma did upon discovering the door wouldn't budge, was to look around for another mode of exit.

The far wall of the room was covered in curtains, meaning that there should be plenty of windows, and the curtains themselves would work as a makeshift rope.

It wasn't that she wanted to escape from Regina, but she sure as hell didn't want to stay locked in this room alone.

No, she needed to get to Regina, to talk to the woman and make her understand.

Pulling the curtains wide she looked out, and gasped.

Her rooms faced out over a lake, and what must have been a sheer drop of over a hundred feet.

She wouldn't be going out of those windows any time soon.

Grimacing, she began to explore the rest of the chamber.

It would have been quite nice, had she not been a prisoner there.

The room had an en suite bath chamber, a large bed, a sitting area, and even a separate dressing room with clothes that looked like they might fit her.

The discovery of the comfort of her confinement just made her wonder again why Regina was doing this.

Emma was just as confused as ever.

Surely if Regina had gone back to being the Evil Queen and wanted to hurt her parents she would have just killed Emma and been done with it.

Instead, the woman had gone to the trouble of taking Emma, and locking her in rooms that were as comfortable as any guest quarters in her own castle.

Did that mean that Regina might still have feelings for her? Despite thinking Emma had deceived her?

Or did it only mean that this castle had no dungeon?

As she thought she paced through the rooms looking for anything she might be able to use to get out.

The windows were out of the question, all of them faced out on the lake and there was no way she would be able to climb down that far, even if she had a rope.

The room had a few chairs and tables that she could have lifted, but the door was far too solid for anything like that to work as a battering ram.

There was nothing small enough to be used to pick the lock on the door, and most likely the door would be sealed with magic as well, so that thought too was a bust.

It was then that Emma realized that there was no food in the room, and she hadn't had more than a few bites of anything at the party.

Her stomach growled as if to emphasize the point even as she looked about her again, hoping she might have overlooked a covered tray or bowl of fruit, but there was nothing.

That might just work to her advantage the blonde thought.

In the few minutes before she had been locked in this room, she hadn't heard or seen any sign that there was anyone besides her and Regina in this castle.

That meant that it would be up to Regina herself to feed Emma.

She paused in her pacing, only now realizing that she didn't know what she would say to Regina when she got the chance.

Oh, she had heard the brunette's words to her mother, but she was just as confused as anyone else by the sudden return of the Evil Queen.

She needed to think, what did Regina actually believe had happened?, and what could she say to convince the woman otherwise?

Emma dropped into a chair to try and remember exactly what the brunette had said.

A short while later Emma shot to her feet, eyes wide.

Somehow Regina must have learned that she was Snow White's daughter, and she had gotten it into her head that Emma, working with her mother, had gone to Regina to gain her trust, and then use it to humiliate the woman.

The why didn't seem to matter, though she would have liked to know how Regina had learned her identity.

According to all of the stories she had heard over the years Regina had tried to kill Snow and Phillip in a number of ways, but it just wasn't their way to go for revenge.

In fact, Snow had pardoned Regina at least twice when she had been bound for the gallows.

It shocked Emma to her core to think that the woman she loved believed she had faked the whole of their relationship.

She had never loved anyone more in her life than she did Regina.

The princess rubbed at her temples.

Why on earth hadn't she told Regina the truth sooner?

She would need to start at the beginning.

How could she get the woman to listen?

It wasn't exactly a short story.

She would have to start with the why, explain just how she had ended up in the forest dressed as a knight.

And for that she would need to tell the brunette about the ball she had been escaping from, and the fact that it was meant to find her a husband.

Emma thought that Regina might just understand that point.

After all, hadn't Regina been married off to her grandfather when she was even younger than Emma herself?

If she remembered her family history correctly Regina would have been around the age of sixteen, and her grandfather already into his later years, and that whole train of thought made Emma squirm with discomfort.

The point was that Regina had only been a few years older than Snow when she had been forced to marry.

And yes, Emma knew it had been forced on the brunette, even though that was never spoken of.

What young woman would want to marry a man who was old enough to have a child her age?

The law of the land would have given her grandfather the right to marry any woman he wished, and it would have given Regina no way to refuse.

They hadn't been married for long when grandpa Leopold had died, his heart apparently giving out.

Though Snow maintained that Regina had killed him.

Now Emma wasn't entirely sure who she was to believe on that score.

Maybe it was best that she wait until she could ask Regina about it, if she ever felt comfortable enough with bringing that up.

As the night wore on Emma realized that she wouldn't be seeing Regina that night.

After surveying the room for what seemed like the hundredth time she finally gave up and went into the dressing room.

She found a simple shift to wear and began preparing for bed, all the while listening for the sound of the door being opened.

She waited, doing all that she could think of to put off going to sleep, but Regina didn't come, and eventually sleep pulled her to the bed and away from the conscious world.

Morning

Emma awake to the sound of the door closing as Regina slipped from the room.

She jumped from the bed and ran to the door but it was too late, the queen was gone again.

"Damn it!" Emma cursed as she slammed her palms against the solid wood of the door hard enough to sting.

Turning back into the room she saw that the table was now full of food.

Much to her dismay, she realized that the assortment of foods that Regina had left for her would easily keep her feed for the whole day.

She wasn't going to get another chance to speak to the brunette today.

Feeling defeated, the blonde slumped into a chair at the table and began to pick at her food.

***Regina's POV***

Regina had stayed in the blonde's room far longer than she had intended to.

She had gone in to give the woman food and water, and then she had caught sight of the sleeping princess.

In sleep Emma was just as beautiful and innocent looking as she had ever been.

It made Regina's heart constrict in her chest.

She had even taken a few steps towards the bed just to be closer to the woman.

Why?

That was the question that kept popping into her mind.

Why had Emma done it?

Was it just because her mother had put her up to it?

Or was there a deeper reason?

Perhaps Emma believed that Regina had been responsible for her grandfather's death, lord knew Snow had certainly been convinced of that.

When they had met Regina would have bet her life on Emma being a good person, not just morally, but through and through.

The type that, had she not been a princess, would have been one of the land's greatest heroes, a true champion of the people.

It really didn't make sense to her that someone like Emma, with a purely good heart, would go along with a revenge plot on her when she had lived quietly in exile for so many years.

Starring down at the woman in the bed she could see the traces of family resemblance, but Emma was not her mother.

She lacked Snow's character flaws, her short-sightedness, her naivete, her steadfast belief that all people were inherently good.

No, she thought, Emma was no more like Snow than Regina was.

The blonde had betrayed her, had conned her into thinking . . . and yet Regina still wanted to reach out and touch the sleeping woman.

Standing there watching the woman sleep she cursed and damned herself for being such a fool.

It was only when the princess began to make small movements in her sleep that indicated she would soon wake that Regina forced herself to remember that she was only there to feed the woman.

Quickly she conjured food and a water jar onto the table and made a hasty exit.

Only just in time too, as she heard Emma hit the door and then her muffled curse when she found it locked once again.

She turned then and pressed her forehead to the cool wood, raising a hand and laying it on the door next to her face, as if she could somehow feel the woman on the other side.

A wave of pain swamped over her and she bit her lip to keep from letting the sound escape.

Why couldn't her heart accept that Emma had betrayed her?, that the woman did not love her.

Finally the brunette gathered her strength and headed for the heart of the castle.

In her initial inspection of the castle, Regina had found a small inner room that was littered with spell casting paraphernalia and ingredients, as well as a few completed, and rather nasty, little surprises that Maleficent must have been keeping on hand for emergencies.

It was to that little windowless chamber that Regina now went.

She had opted to store her own magical tools there as well, since the room was already so well suited to it.

Right now she wanted to know what the two idiots (Emma's parents) were doing.

Taking her dark mirror from a shelf, she set it on a work table and passed her hand over it fingers swirling through the air just above the glass, before instructing the glass to "show me Snow and Phillip".

What looked like fog clouded the mirror's surface for a moment and then she saw Snow.

The woman was clearly distraught, though now there was a determined set to her jaw that Regina knew well.

Snow was in the throne room, pacing and arguing with Phillip.

A handful of soldiers stood by, waiting for orders.

While the mirror didn't allow Regina to hear what was said, she could well imagine that Snow did not want to be left out of the search for her daughter.

Phillip though would likely say that at least one of them needed to remain behind to ensure the safety of the kingdom.

Regina rolled her eyes as Phillip took hold of Snow by the arms and kissed her.

There was more arguing and then the couple sent the soldiers out to ready horses for their departure.

As they rode out through the castle gates, in the direction of the Exiles Forest, Regina let the mirror go blank.

They were in for a few surprises when they found her cottage.

After she had replaced the mirror on the shelf she headed for her rooms, a smile of wicked satisfaction on her lips.

Once in her chambers she goes for the bathing room off to one side of the main room.

There she easily draws a bath for herself using magic and then disrobes.

Laying her clothes across a chair the brunette lowers her body into the comforting heat with a sigh of pleasure.

Among the traps she had laid at the cottage were wil-o-wisps with Emma's voice, a very pissed off troll, and a few triggers that when touched would cause the cottage to collapse.

She figured that there would be a few injured or possibly lost to the wil-o-wisps and the troll, but most likely Emma's parents would be well behind their guards when those traps sprang.

Though Regina thought there was a fair chance that one or both of them would be injured when the cottage fell.

She relaxed back against the side of the tub and let her eyes drift shut while she thought of what else she might throw at Snow and Phillip while they searched for their daughter.

Lifting a hand out of the water she flicked her fingers, conjuring a silver tray of fruit and bread to nibble on while she enjoyed the bath.

No, Regina thought, she didn't need servants when she could have anything she needed or wanted with a gesture.

It was probably better this way anyhow, the more people you had around you the more chance of someone betraying you.

The brunette ate a few grapes and thought back over the things she had done to Snow and Phillip in the past.

They weren't likely to fall for any of those same tricks again, but it gave her a starting place.

Perhaps she could locate a werewolf and lure the creature into the royal couple's path.

The faeries had too long a memories, and wouldn't easily be tricked into doing her bidding, especially if that bitch Blue was still leading them.

The Blue faerie had always seemed to hate her worse than anyone, and she had it on good authority that she had pushed for Regina's execution on numerous occasions.

That reminded her, Blue was good friends with Snow, that meant she would need to take some precautions against being found by magical means.

She really had been out of the game too long, to have not thought of that before now.

With a sigh of aggravation that caused her breasts to bob in the water she reached down and pulled the plug on the tub, allowing it to drain through the channel cut into the floor and eventually out of the side wall of the castle.

Using magic she quickly dresses herself against the slight chill in the air, she had forgotten how drafty castles could be in winter.

Once back in the room with all of her magical tools, Regina drew on her anger and pain from the betrayal and began to weave a powerful cloaking spell.

One that would not only hide her and Emma, but would also keep all traces of magic from being detected outside of the castle, and would hide the huge structure itself from sight unless someone were standing directly before the doors.

Let Snow and her charming husband try to find them now she thought as she put things back where they had been before she started.

That thought reminded her that Emma was indeed in the castle with her, something she had been trying very hard to ignore.

She did not want to want the blonde, she wanted to convince herself that it would have been better if they had never met.

But her heart, which sped up in her chest at the thought that the woman was so near, was not so forgetful of its pledge.

Knowing she shouldn't, but unable to help herself, Regina took the mirror down from the shelf once more, working the charm again she commanded it to show her Emma.

The blonde princess was pacing the main room, back and forth along the length of the wall of windows.

From time to time she paused to look out.

She was dressed in one of the gowns Regina had placed in the room for her, it was the pale blue one, the one Regina had most wanted to see on her, though she would never admit that.

The dress was the palest shade of blue silk she had ever seen, and it moved like a waterfall, cascading down the blonde's figure and caressing her skin.

It had three quarter length sleeves and a triangle of cream colored fabric in the front of the skirt that matched the folded back ends of each sleeve.

The brunette had to admit that she had spent far longer than she should have on making sure the Emma would have attractive clothes to wear while she was captive here.

Regina wondered what Emma was thinking.

It couldn't have been pleasant judging from her agitated behavior.

As Emma paced her eyes darted around the room and her hands clenched into fists and then relaxed.

It was like the woman wanted to do something, but didn't know what.

Finally Emma lowered herself into a chair, seemingly exhausted.

What Regina saw next ripped open the still healing wounds on her heart.

The blonde leaned back in the chair hugging herself tight, and though Regina was no expert at lip reading she clearly saw the woman speak her name before beginning to cry, huge sobs racking her body as if she was in the worst agony imaginable.

Why?

Why would the blonde be crying for her, shouldn't she be crying for herself?, or perhaps for her mother?

Emma had to know by now that Regina intended to make Snow suffer for what she had dared to do to the former queen.

It didn't make any sense, but neither did the fact that Regina wanted, badly, to go and hold the blonde right now.

Blanking the mirror, she once again placed it on the shelf and then glanced around her.

Maleficent had quite the collection of spell books, she had only begun to scratch the surface of what was contained in this room really.

Figuring she should make the most of what was left of the day Regina chose a book from the stack closest to her and made her way back to her own rooms.

Once there she lit a fire in the hearth and settled onto a chaise to read as the shadows of the day began to overtake the land.

***Emma's POV***

Emma had cried until she couldn't cry anymore.

She barely registered when a fire blazed to life in the cold fireplace.

She had really screwed up in not telling Regina who she was, at the very least she should have said something when she figured out who "Gina" was.

She needed to find a way to show the brunette, to prove to her, that she hadn't been a part of some ridiculous revenge plot, that there had not, in fact, been any revenge plot against her.

Emma finally sat up and wiped at the tears left on her face.

Looking around she noted that the sun had set some time ago, and but for the fire the room would have been very cold as she had neglected to close the curtains.

But where had the fire come from?

She was certain that Regina had not entered the room without her noticing, she hadn't been quite that oblivious.

Getting up she moved closer to examine the stonework, but there didn't seem to be any hidden openings or servants' access.

How had the fire been lit then?

Giving a shaky laugh she realized that the answer was rather obvious, she was a guest of the Evil Queen, and nothing she had yet seen had lead her to believe that the old stories had exaggerated the woman's magic.

If there was anything at all about the old stories that was unreliable, it was that they had neglected to tell just how beautiful the Evil Queen was.

While Emma could see that her's was a colder beauty, and entirely different from the woman she had first met, she still couldn't bring herself to be frightened of the woman who now held her captive.

Getting up she goes to the table and picks up a bit of fruit to nibble at before going to the window to look out over the lake.

Even though she had been looking out at the lake for over a day now (there wasn't much else to do), she still wasn't sure where she was.

It wasn't that she didn't know her own kingdom, she did, but she couldn't be sure if they were even still in her kingdom.

With her magic Regina could have taken them anywhere in the world.

Though she would admit that it was unlikely they were in the southern reaches, as she had been taught that it didn't get this cold there, even in the middle of winter.

If she were to guess, on the belief they were still in her kingdom, there was only one lake this could be, Mirror Lake, which would put them on the extreme northern edge of the kingdom.

Not that the knowledge of where they were would help her.

She was still trapped, with no way to get the information to anyone who might help . . .

That did raise an interesting question though.

Would she tell her parents where they were if she could?

With a small shock she realized that she wouldn't even if she could.

After all, her parents would blame Regina for everything, and this time they might decide not to give the woman the option of going back into exile.

There would be only one way that they would deal with the Evil Queen . . . . they would execute her.

That thought sent a lightning bolt of pain through her heart.

No, she would not let them hurt Regina, she couldn't, she loved the woman with all her heart.

Moving back to the fireplace she sank down on the hearthstone.

She would do everything in her power to protect her love, even if that meant sabotaging her parents efforts to find them.

In that moment a line had been drawn in the sand for her, and she realized that she was willing to give up everything she had ever known if it meant that she could be with the woman she loved.

The realization of how deep her feelings for Regina really went was both terrifying and freeing.

But there was still the problem of convincing Regina that her feelings for her were entirely sincere.

As she sat basking in the warmth of the fire Emma slowly began to realize that though she hadn't done more than think and pace all day, she was exhausted.

Worrying was a tiring activity.

Looking around her, Emma wished that there were something, anything, for her to do here besides thinking.

But the room was completely bereft of so much as a single book or bit of yarn for knitting.

Though she did, in fact, know how to knit, it was only the direst of boredom that would drive her to do so for lack of anything else to do.

Finally she accepted that there wasn't anything to do but go to bed.

In the bathing room she did what she could to wash up since she didn't have any way to heat water for a bath, using water from the hand pump and a wash cloth, before brushing her hair and changing into the shift she had slept in the previous night.

Back in the main bedchamber she noted that the fire had begun to burn down and there was no extra wood to be found in her rooms.

Turning her back to the fire she climbed into bed and pulled the covers up under her chin against the chill that would come once the fire was gone.

It was likely that as with today, she would only get one chance to speak to Regina tomorrow, and only if she woke early enough.

Willing herself to wake early, she turned onto her side, curled up, and fell asleep.

***Regina's POV***

Regina cursed as she quickly fixed the window and replaced the curtains in her bedchamber.

She had had the nightmare again and had thrown yet another fireball before she woke enough to realize that the danger wasn't real.

It didn't even make sense anymore, not when she didn't care about Emma, not when the woman had betrayed her.

And yet . . . it did.

Even now it was devastating to watch her mother rip the heart from Emma's chest in a dream.

She couldn't deny that she still had feelings for the blonde princess, but she also knew that she couldn't allow those feelings to blind her to the truth.

It was that simple.

With that in mind she left her room to go and see to the princess' needs.

Perhaps she ought to rethink not having any servants.

Looking about the princess' room she frowned noting that it was colder in here than she had expected, after all she had laid a spell that would light a fire in the fireplace here any time she had one going in her own room.

Then she cursed realizing her mistakes, first, there wasn't enough wood for the fire to have lasted through the night, second, these rooms faced the lake and would bear the chill of the winds coming off the water.

Quickly she begins to set things right.

Clearing away the remains of the food and setting out more, cleaning the fireplace, placing extra wood and tender and flint, so that Emma may have a fire whenever she wishes.

Then, just as before, Regina finds herself standing beside the bed, just staring at the sleeping woman.

Watching the soft rise and fall of the blonde's chest helps calm and reassure her in ways she hadn't even known she needed.

After a few moments the brunette begins to notice little details about the other woman.

Emma's usually bouncy golden curls are starting to look limp and a touch greasy, her nails have dirt under them, and the foot she can see poking out from under the covers is dirty.

Sighing, she realizes she has made another miscalculation.

While she herself can enjoy a hot bath any time she wishes, she has left Emma without any of the necessary items to heat water for a bath.

As she has no intention of hurting Emma, at least for the time being, there is no reason the blonde shouldn't have every comfort possible, within the confines of her chambers.

Using magic Regina fills the tub, making the water extra hot so that it will still be warm enough by the time that blonde wakes.

Then she sets a fire in the small fireplace in the bathing room so that the woman can bathe without worrying about catching a chill.

Pausing again to stare at the blonde, she also lights the fire in the main room before turning to go.

Only to hear the blonde call after her.

"Regina, Gina, Regina!, wait I need to talk to you!"

She spun on her heel and faced the other woman, who was still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Why should I listen to you? I think your tongue has already done enough damage Princess!"

And with that Regina whisked herself out of the room in a purple cloud of magic.

Though she didn't go far, just outside of the door in fact.

She was in the act of resealing the door when Emma began to yell at her from the other side.

"Just listen to me for a minute. There was no plot against you! My mother didn't even know where you were."

Something thumped against the door and then Emma continued to yell through the door.

"I know I should have told you who I was, I was wrong to keep that from you. But I didn't want you to treat me like a princess, I didn't even know who you were at first. By the time I figured out who you were . . . . . I didn't want to believe it. I didn't think you would be able to get over who my parents are. I never meant to hurt you Regina."

The blonde was silent for a moment, perhaps listening for some sign that Regina was still there.

Regina refused to give her one.

"I never told my parents where I was going, or who I had met. I only wanted to be with you! The day we met, I was in disguise because I was running away, I didn't want to go to another stupid ball, I just wanted space, time away from it all."

she thought she heard a quiet sob from the other side of the door.

"I . . . I started falling for you the minute we met. I love you Regina!"

On hearing that Regina pressed a hand against her mouth to hold back any sound and ran for the opposite end of the castle.

***Emma's POV***

Emma slumped against the solid bulk of the door.

She was crying yet again.

She hated the weakness of crying all the time, it had never been her way before.

Only love, it seemed, could reduce her to this.

Waking to find Regina almost at the foot of her bed had made her completely forget the careful words she had put together the evening before.

Even though the brunette's presence had not been really unexpected, nor her anger, Emma had still thought that they might be able to talk like reasonable people.

Instead, after the woman's verbal barb, she had ended up yelling at her through a door, and kicking said door, before collapsing into a soggy mess on the floor.

The blonde stayed slumped against the door until the cold from the stones beneath her began to seep through her numbness, only then did she push herself up and go to see about getting dressed.

When she saw the fire and the hot bath she smiled, Regina did still care about her, even if she was trying very hard to pretend otherwise at the moment.

Emma dipped her hand into the tub to test the water temp and decided that she had a few minutes to kill before it would be quite right.

Going to the dressing room she debated a bit between the choices before choosing a dark red dress, one that seemed to be a bit thicker, and thus warmer, than most of the others.

The dress was simple, and would have been plain, if not for the heraldic lion embroidered across the bodice.

Emma ran her fingers over the lion wondering at the choice to put this in her wardrobe, the lion looked as if it belonged on someone's family crest, but she couldn't think of a single noble house in the kingdom that had a lion in their crest.

Did the lion have a special meaning for Regina perhaps?

She sat on the side of the tub and brushed her hair, only just now noticing how much she needed to wash it.

Dipping her hand into the water again she found it was now just about perfect.

The blonde stood and stripped off her shift and underthings quickly before stepping into the tub.

As the hot water closed around her shoulders she groaned, it felt so damn good.

Sitting back against the side of the tub she trailed one hand down the center of her body, wishing like anything that it was Regina's hand instead of her own.

Biting her lip and closing her eyes Emma allows her hand to dip between her legs, an image of Regina joining her in the bath drifting through her head.

She strokes herself gently, fingers barely parting her lower lips, really just a teasing sort of caress.

Laying her head against the edge of the tub she spreads her thighs farther apart to give herself better access.

Emma played one finger up and down along the seam of her slit, teasing till she couldn't take any more.

Then she slipped that finger between her lips and dragged it slowly upward towards her clit.

Her finger rubbed lazy circles around the little bundle of nerves and she arched her hips upward.

When she pushed her finger back down and finally into her opening small sounds began to escape her lips.

Behind her tightly shut eyelids it was Regina teasing and toying with her swollen clit and pushing just one finger into her tight sheath.

Withdrawing for a moment she added a second finger and thrust back in, harder than before.

She was whimpering softly now as her fingers worked in and out.

With her thumb she started to rub back and forth over her clit while thrusting two fingers into herself over and over again.

Her free hand came up and pinched an aching nipple and she moaned.

When she pinched the other nipple she also curled the fingers inside of her so that they rubbed against the spot inside of her that was most sensitive and the combination sent over the edge.

And as she came she cried out "Regina!".

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so full of angst, but I did say that it wouldn't get better right away. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed Emma's bath. Read, enjoy, and please review, I love seeing what you think! Until next time.