Chapter Seven
Unconsciously, Emma leaned back against Regina as they stood on the balcony looking out over the Kingdom. She tried to ignore the feeling of Regina's breasts against her back, knowing that it was wrong for a princess and a lady to enjoy such things. But Regina was intoxicating in every way, and Emma couldn't help that it was drawing out strange feelings inside her.
Maybe Regina was spurning more than one type of magic inside her.
No one had ever touched her like this, so intimately, save for her parents and that was different. No one else had taken such a keen interest in her, and it left Emma feeling confused. Even Prince Michael hadn't given her so much as a second glance when they'd been introduced, and she was intended to marry him.
What kind of man doesn't even look at his future wife? Then again, he wasn't a man, he was a boy. And Emma was a girl. But Regina, she was a woman. She was strong and confident and self-assured and when she looked in Emma's eyes it gave her butterflies in her stomach.
Emma was inexperienced with feelings like this, but she was still fairly sure what she was feeling wasn't exactly appropriate. This woman was supposed to be her step-grandmother, after all, even if she did strangely look younger than Emma's actual mother.
And perhaps that was the only reason that she was interested in Emma. She had to wonder if everything Regina had said about her mother was true. Was it really her fault that Emma had never had the chance to grow up with Regina as her family? Her parents had insisted that the walls were to protect Emma from the Evil Queen, and yet here she was, and as far as she could tell, this Queen was anything but evil. And it left Emma questioning everything.
"What are you thinking, Princess?" Regina's hypnotic voice cut through Emma's thoughts; that voice she had heard her entire life through the mirror.
"I was thinking that I like it here. With you," Emma said, shyly.
"You do?" Regina sounded surprised. Emma supposed she wasn't used to people wanting to be around her, due to her reputation, and it made Emma feel a little bad for the woman. If only the people could see what she was really like. Then they wouldn't be so quick to condemn her.
"Yes." Emma nodded, breathing in deeply. She barely noticed that Regina was tracing light circles on her abdomen with the fingers of one hand, while the other arm was still wrapped tightly around her ribs, holding her close.
"I like having you here," Regina cooed, making Emma smile. Her smile quickly turned into a yawn as she felt her eyelids starting to get heavy. The sun was almost set, she could just barely see the glow over the horizon now, and she was suddenly so tired.
"Hmm, getting sleepy, Little One?" Regina observed. Emma just nodded. Regina squeezed her a little tighter. "It's been a long day for you. Perhaps it's bed time?"
Emma nodded again, and let Regina lead her by hand into her bedroom, off of Regina's bedroom. She still thought the set-up was rather odd, and she didn't like that the only way out was through Regina's bedroom, but she was slowly beginning to accept that Regina wasn't a danger to her.
Emma's eyelids were becoming so heavy. She couldn't remember the last time she was this exhausted.
"Perhaps the wine is getting to you," Regina commented, as though she were reading Emma's thoughts. "Or the magic. It takes a lot of energy to summon magic, Emma. Let me help you."
Emma just nodded. She didn't realize what Regina had meant by 'let me help you' until she felt her hands lifting up her dress. Unconsciously, Emma raised her arms, allowing Regina to slip the dress right off of her. Emma had been dressed and undressed a thousand times by servants in the White Palace, but it seemed strange to her to have a queen tending to her like this. Then again, Regina wasn't a queen. Not anymore.
"Such a good girl," Regina cooed, as Emma felt a hand brush across the bare skin on her abdomen, giving her chills. She only then realized that she had her eyes closed, and she was standing naked, save for her panties, in front of the queen. But she was calm. And relaxed. She almost wondered if Regina had somehow put her in a trance.
Moments later, she felt Regina slipping a nightgown over her head, and then fingers weaving their way through her hair. "Would you like me to tell you a bedtime story?"
Emma smiled and nodded, and Regina took her by the hand again, and led her to the chaise in her own bed chambers. She sat down, and pulled Emma down with her, letting her snuggle up against her as she stroked her hair again.
"Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess," she started.
Emma smiled. "Was it me?"
Regina laughed. "No dear. Just listen to the story."
"Sorry."
"Once upon a time, there lived a princess, only this princess didn't grow up in a palace. She grew up in a prison. It didn't look like a prison from the outside, and if anyone had to guess, they'd think she led a privileged life. But the truth was, the princess was being held captive by her own mother. The mother didn't use chains or locks to hold the princess in, but fear and magic."
Emma stiffened up at the idea of a mother using magic on her own daughter. In her limited experience, she thought all mothers were wonderful and loving to their daughters, as her own mother had been.
"One day, the princess met a boy and they fell in love. They were even going to get married, but they were going to have to do so in secret, because the boy was just a stable boy. The princess's mother never would have approved, and if she found out, do you know what she would have done?"
Emma shook her head, no.
"She would have killed the boy."
"She would kill the boy her daughter loved?" Emma asked, in disbelief.
"Yes. So one day, the princess and the stable boy were meeting in secret, when they heard screaming. The princess saw that a young girl's horse had gone wild, and the little girl was in danger, so the princess got on her own horse and saved the little girl. As it turned out, the little girl was also a princess and her father was a king. And do you know how the king wanted to thank the princess for saving his daughter?"
Emma shook her head again.
"He asked her to marry him."
Emma frowned. She didn't like where this story was going, and it was starting to remind her an awful lot of the story her mother had told her of how she and Regina had met. Her mother hadn't mentioned a stable boy, but the rest seemed to fit.
"Of course, the princess didn't want to marry the king because she was in love with the stable boy, and she and the boy planned to run away together. There was one problem though. When the princess kissed the stable boy, the little brat princess she had saved saw everything and ran off to tell her father. Now our princess managed to reach the little brat before she could, and the little brat promised to keep her secret. But, she lied."
"She lied? She told the king anyway?" Emma asked.
"Worse. She told the princess's magic mother. And remember what I told you the mother would do?"
"Kill him."
"That's right. And that's what she did. And the princess couldn't do anything but watch while she crushed his heart. He died, all because a little brat made a promise she couldn't keep."
"She never told me that," Emma whispered.
Regina raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"My mother."
"Oh, so she told you this story, did she?" Regina asked.
"Not all of it. Only the part where you saved her," Emma admitted.
"I see. Well, I suppose you know how the story ends, then," Regina sighed.
"I'd still like to hear your side."
Regina smiled. "One day, princess. Not tonight. You can barely keep your eyes open, and you're far too innocent to even understand some of the things that happened."
Emma sighed and closed her eyes as Regina made light circles on her back with her hands. She wondered if Regina was going to send her to bed or just let her sleep right there with her head on her chest. She wasn't even sure which she would prefer at this moment.
No, that wasn't exactly true.
She knew she would prefer to stay in Regina's arms, and that thought just confused her even more. She barely knew this woman… but then again, she did. Regina had been watching over her and talking to her through her mirror for as long as Emma could remember. The physical touch was new, but Regina's presence had always been a part of her life.
So maybe that's why this felt so natural, like being held by her mother…. and, at the same time, nothing at all like being held by her mother.
And so she drifted off to sleep in Regina's warm embrace, her cheek resting comfortably against the soft velvet of Regina's dress, the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed lulling Emma into sleep.
And she dreamed. She dreamed she was ten years old and riding a horse that was running wild, and she was saved by a younger, more innocent looking Regina. And Regina asked her to keep her secret, and she did.
When Emma's eyes fluttered open, it was still dark. She couldn't have been asleep more than an hour or so, she guessed. She was still lying on Regina, who was also now asleep. Emma propped herself up on one elbow to look at the woman. She resisted the urge to trace her features with her finger, the way she would through the mirror when she was a child.
Regina really was beautiful. Her mother had always described her as beautiful and sad, but Regina didn't look sad to Emma. Emma wondered if maybe her presence really did make Regina happy.
Emma glanced around the room, and the first thing she noticed was that the door to Regina's bedchambers was still slightly ajar. Emma wondered if perhaps Regina hadn't intended to fall asleep with her, because she found the open door to be quite odd.
Quite odd, and oddly compelling as well.
Emma had always been something of an explorer. She had charted every inch of her own palace with Seth. There wasn't much else to do when one couldn't go anywhere. There were only so many places to visit within the courtyard.
But Regina's palace was thousands and thousands of feet of unchartered territory, and Emma could feel her curiosity springing to life. What harm could come from a little exploration? After all, Regina wanted her here, so it stood to reason that she would be alright with Emma looking around and getting a feel for the palace. Emma parents had always encouraged her curiosity, and Regina had been nothing but kind to her thus far.
Emma moved as stealthily as she could, and untangled her body from Regina's limbs without waking the queen. She tiptoed across the stone floor silently in her bare feet and peaked out the door. No guards. There was no one at all around. Emma was in the clear.
She headed out into the hall and began to wander. This palace wasn't warm and inviting like her own, and it amazed Emma that her mother had actually grown up here. How could she stand it? It was cold and dark and menacing. She had to feel bad for Regina being cooped up here for the last fifteen years alone. She had to wonder if her mother's banishing her had been too cruel. Certainly Regina didn't deserve that, and Emma was sure the rumours of Regina's crimes against the kingdom had been greatly exaggerated.
Emma turned down a hallway that looked exactly like the one she had just been in. This exploration expedition was a bit of a letdown thus far. Everywhere Emma looked there were just stone walls, stone floor and dimly lit sconces on the wall.
She turned down another hall and sighed. More of the same.
Every hallway she came to looked just like the last one and she was starting to realize this castle was more of a maze than a home. She wondered if she should just give up this silly trek and go back to Regina's room.
And then the realization hit her: she had no idea where she was. She spun around looking from one side of the hallway to the other, and both ends were identical. She couldn't remember where she had come from and suddenly she was remembering Regina telling her that it was possible to get lost for days on end in this palace. Emma hoped that wasn't true.
She wanted to cry.
On a whim, she chose a direction and took off running, hoping that would help her cover more ground in less time. She turned down another hallway that was identical to the last one, and felt the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She silently chastised herself for leaving the room at all. What would happen if Regina woke up and realized she was missing? Would she be furious?
What if she didn't even find Emma? What if she was lost in the palace for so long that she starved to death in one of these hallways?
Emma couldn't let herself think like that.
She continued down hallway after hallway but she couldn't find the open door to Regina's bedchambers. She stopped running and fell back against the wall, tearing flowing freely now. She felt like she'd been running forever but she was no closer to being back. For all she knew, she had been running in circles this whole time. She slid down the wall and landed on the floor, immediately drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly as she cried.
She wanted to be home so badly right now. She wanted to run into her parents' bed and snuggle in between them. She knew she was far too old for that sort of thing now, but her mother never made her feel badly about it, she just soothed her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.
Emma let her mind wander to thoughts of Regina's mother, the woman who Regina claimed made her a prisoner of fear and magic. It occurred to Emma that if the rumours about the Evil Queen were true, it shouldn't be surprising considering the unfortunate way Regina was raised. What kind of mother would torment a daughter like that?
"There you are." Emma was snapped back to reality at the sound of Regina's voice above her. She hadn't even heard her approach. There was something different in her voice now, something sinister that reminded her of the way she had spoken when Emma had mentioned her mother earlier that day. Something dark and unforgiving. And Emma knew she had angered the queen.
She jumped up quickly. She was no stranger to causing mischief and she was fairly confident in her own ability to talk herself out of punishment. "Regina, I'm sorry, I just wanted to look around and I got lost trying-"
Emma was cut off by an abrupt and unexpected slap across her cheek that sent her reeling. No one had ever hit her before, and the shock almost stopped the pain from even registering.
Almost.
Emma's hand went to her cheek the moment the searing pain set in, and a fresh batch of tears started streaming from her eyes. For her part, Regina didn't even seem to notice as she grabbed Emma's arm in a painfully tight grip and dragged her back down the hall. One turn, and they were back at Regina's bedchambers. Emma couldn't believe she had been this close.
Regina didn't say a word as she dragged Emma across the room to the door to her own bedroom and pushed her inside. Emma gasped as she fell to her hands and knees, and it took her a moment to regain her equilibrium and get back to her feet.
She looked around. The once simple but beautifully furnished room was now bare. The bed and dressers and vanity were gone, and all that remained was a rug on the floor and the bars on the windows. She spun around to face Regina, confused.
"If you are going to act like an ungrateful brat in my home, then you will suffer the consequences," Regina stated, matter-of-factly, before slamming the door.
It only took Emma a moment to realize that the door handle had been removed as well, and she was now locked in this empty room. Regina had promised her she wouldn't be locked in. She threw herself against the heavy wooden door and slammed her fists against it repeatedly, as hard as she could. If Regina could hear her, she made no acknowledgement of it, and Emma gave up.
She stepped over to the window and looked outside. It was still pitch dark, but she knew her parents were coming to get her by lunchtime tomorrow. She wished she could see the White Palace from here, but at the same time, she was glad she couldn't, as it might just make her miss her parents more.
Emma dragged the rug over to the window and laid down on the floor. Never in her life had she been forced to sleep on the floor like a dog, and yet here she was. Only a few hours ago she had been curled up on the chaise with the queen, and now she was locked up like a common prisoner.
And Emma started to wonder if this was really worth it. Maybe she would have been better off taking her chances with Prince Michael.
How could she have let herself be tricked like this? She should have known Regina didn't earn the title of Evil Queen for nothing. She wondered if it was too late to get out of this deal. Rumplestiltskin owed the King of the Silver Kingdom a favour, and maybe there would be a way to get him to cash it in to save Emma from this arrangement.
Of course, that would mean she had to marry the prince.
But then again, she had learned today that she had magic. Maybe she could find a way to protect herself. She reached up to grab the swan pendant around her neck. It was still cool to the touch. She reached around the chain trying to find the clasp to remove it, but she couldn't find one anywhere.
She sat up and felt the chain with both hands. No clasp. How was that possible? Regina had clasped it on her neck. The chain was fine and Emma was sure she could just break it off, but when she tried, she found it was impossible. The chain cut into her skin as she tried to pull on it, and it seemed to be as strong as steel.
She laid back down on the rug and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will herself to sleep. The sooner she slept, the sooner morning would come, and the sooner her parents would be here to get her. And then they could start figuring out a plan to get out of this arrangement. She knew once she told them what Regina had done, they wouldn't tolerate it for a second. Regina might have magic, but her parents had vast numbers of allies, and she was sure this was a battle they could win.
