"I'd forgotten how long it takes to get around in this place," David comments, his breath heavy from exertion.
"Aye," Hook agrees, "it makes you find a new appreciation for the vehicles in our realm, doesn't it?"
David nods his head and pushes a branch, which had been level with his face, out of the way so that he can keep walking.
"We would have reached Rumple's castle a lot quicker if we could walk on the paths," Snow adds, stepping over a fallen tree trunk. "Though that isn't possible seeing as we can't be seen by anyone."
The trio have been walking through the forest, avoiding anyone and everyone, for days now. Luckily, they have all lived in the Enchanted Forest at some point in their lives, so they know how to light a fire, how to find freshwater, how to hunt, and which plants are safe to eat. However, they are all a little out of practice when it comes to surviving in the wild, which is evident in the quick loss of energy they have all experienced.
"We would have reached Rumple's castle a lot quicker if we were travelling horseback," Killian says pointedly. He had suggested many times that they all find a steed to ride, though Mary Margaret and David had shot the idea down because it would involve interacting with people. It was better not to take any risks.
"We would have reached Rumple's castle a lot quicker if we had a car," David counters. "But, unfortunately, neither of those things are possible, so let's stop being unrealistic and get a move on."
"This whole thing is ridiculous, anyway," Killian grumbles. "What are we going to do when we get to the castle? Knock on the door and kindly ask the crocodile for a magical pocket-watch and a forgetting potion? Do you really expect him to hand them over to us willingly? You must be forgetting that this guy's motto is 'all magic comes with a price'. He'll try to strike a deal with us."
"It's not a good plan," David acknowledges. "But it's the only one we have."
"He's going to ask questions," Killian continues. "He'll want to know why we want them, and then what are we going to tell him? That we're from the future? That we need to find the Saviour, who hasn't been born yet in this realm, and save her from the Evil Queen who has kidnapped her?"
"I don't know what we're going to say to him yet, but-"
"And any interaction we have with him may alter the timeline, meaning that we might change the future."
"Will you stop?" David spins around to face Killian, his frustration clear on his face. "I've already said that this isn't a good plan, but what else do you want us to do? My daughter, your girlfriend, is in the hands of the Evil Queen right now. Do you understand how dangerous that is? We don't even know if Emma is still alive, and every second that she is in that castle, the chances that she is are getting slimmer and slimmer. We need to save her, and this is the only way we can. So, stop being so pessimistic and try to have some hope that this will work."
Killian clenches his jaw, not appreciating being told off. He shakes his head and walks around David, pushing some more branches out of the way. As he steps through the curtain of leaves, he realises that they're at the edge of the forest and there on the horizon sits a large castle.
"Is that...?"
"Rumple's castle," Snow finishes, stepping next to Killian. "We made it."
"Thank God." David sighs in relief, tipping his head back.
"Come on. Let's get the pocket-watch and the potion and then save Emma."
Snow immediately starts walking, as does David, but they both slow to a stop when they notice Killian lingering behind. They turn back to the pirate, silently asking what he's waiting for.
"I'm going to wait here," Killian informs them, scratching the back of his head with his hook. "We're in the past. Rumple wants me dead here, and I'm supposed to want him dead, too. I can't exactly go walking into the crocodile's den."
David nods his head in understanding, then reaches for Snow's hand. "Fair enough. We should be back before sundown."
Without further ado, Snow and David continue walking towards the awaiting castle while Killian sits down on the grass with an exhausted sigh.
As soon as the Evil Queen leaves the room, Emma falls into a dreamless sleep.
She wakes hours later, as the sun is starting to rise, still alone. She stretches in the bed with a content sigh, then sits up. She's not sure what she's supposed to do, or how long she's going to be left alone for, but she decides that there's no harm in looking around.
She gets out of bed, immediately noticing that her clothes are wrinkled from sleeping in them. She walks over to a chest of drawers at the side of the room, wondering if there will be any fresh clothes in it. But, as she opens each drawer, starting at the top and working her way down, it becomes apparent that they're all empty. She sighs and walks over to the wardrobe and checks in there, only to reach the same outcome.
She turns back to the room and scans it with her eyes. It only contains a bed, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a desk, a couple of bedside tables, and a bookshelf. It looks like it could be someone's bedroom, but Emma suspects that this isn't the case seeing as it is devoid of any personal items. The only thing added to make the place seem more welcoming is a painting of a black horse in a field that hangs on the wall. Maybe it's just a guest bedroom, Emma wonders, then ponders over how many guests the Evil Queen would actually have. She can't even imagine her having friends.
Emma shakes her head and walks over to the window. Outside, she can see some workers already in the field, getting ready to start their day. Beyond that is the forest, which looks endless from here. Even if Emma had escaped the other day, she would have probably spent days wandering helplessly through the trees, unsure where to go. Maybe it was for the best that she got caught. Emma didn't know the first thing about how to survive in the wilderness. Knowing her luck, she would have feasted on poisonous berries and ended up dead.
Emma reminds herself of the words she had said to Regina last night: everything happens for a reason. Maybe it was true, after all.
With that, Emma's mind goes back to the dark and mysterious Evil Queen. Clearly, what Emma had said to her a couple of days ago, about her being a bad person, had affected her.
Emma had never thought that her words would hit the queen so hard. To be honest, she had said them mostly for her own good, to get them off her chest and make it clear that she in no way approved of the cold-blooded murder of the guard. But the Evil Queen had listened to them and heard them and they had struck a chord with her. They have made her look at herself and her actions, and made her realise that she no longer likes herself. Although Emma doesn't feel good that she may have made the queen more unhappy, she is proud of herself that she has caused her to do that kind of self-assessment.
And last night, for the first time, Emma had seen the queen's guard come down, even if it was just a little bit. There was vulnerability in the way that the queen had displayed her emotions for Emma to see. Her guilt that she had caused Emma to have nightmares because of the whipping; her anguish at realising she's turning into her mother; her regret and desire to change how her life has turned out; her hatred for who she has become.
Somehow, the queen's mask had fallen and all of those feelings had slipped out while Emma was there to see them.
Emma understands now more than ever that the Evil Queen really is only 'evil' because of how much she's hurting. The queen is in pain, so she lashes out at others to make them hurt just as much as she does. Emma doesn't approve of the way that the queen makes herself feel better, but she also can't help but feel sympathy towards her. She must live a lonely and depressing life, and knowing that Regina is experiencing it, even if this is the past, kills Emma.
And then, while Emma looks out at the forest, the last thing that the queen had said to her comes into her head. You're a good person, Emma. Don't let the world change that.
She smiles to herself when she thinks about how infuriating Regina had found her when she first arrived in Storybrooke. One of the reasons that she had hated her so much was because of the goodness the the queen had just told her never to change. It amuses Emma to think that, the things that Regina likes about her are also the things that she hates about her.
There's a fine line between love and hate, Emma thinks, then dismisses that thought. No, Regina doesn't love her. Not by a long shot.
Someone clears their throat behind Emma, startling her out of her thoughts. She jumps and spins around, seeing a guard standing by the door. She hadn't heard him come in and wonders how long he has been standing there for.
"The queen has asked to see you," He says, and Emma finds herself nodding automatically.
"Of course," Emma doesn't even need to think about walking over to the guard.
At first, she had found it irritating that the queen could request her presence and expect her to come running. Now, six days later, she actually does. Like a well-trained dog, she comes running when she's called.
She reasons with herself that she doesn't really have a say in the matter because the queen is more powerful than her. Even if she did try to put up a protest, she'd be dragged kicking and screaming. Like on her first full day in the castle, when she had tried to refuse going to breakfast with the queen and had ended up being knocked out and taken to her anyway. Going willingly just saves Emma a whole lot of time and energy.
But when she gets to the guard and puts her wrists together, waiting for them to be shackled from pure force of habit, the guard ignores the gesture and grabs her elbow, pulling her out of the room and down the hall.
Emma looks to the guard in confusion. "You aren't going to shackle me?" She asks. It seems particularly strange because, the last time Emma was left unchained, she'd tried to escape.
"The queen says it en't necessary anymore," The guard replies without looking at her. "You know there's no way of getting out of here, so she trusts you'll be good."
Emma doesn't feel the need to question it more, instead choosing to be thankful for the freedom. It feels good not to be shackled. She has resented being treated like a criminal since day one.
It's not a long walk to Regina's bedchambers, Emma discovers. The room that she'd slept in is a little down the corridor from the queen's room, so in no time at all the guard stops and knocks on a double door.
The queen's voice tells them to enter a moment later, and the guard opens the door for Emma.
The first thing Emma spots in the table for two, set out with breakfast, but the Evil Queen isn't standing near it. Instead, she's sitting in one of the armchairs. Emma glances down at the blue velvet dress with heels that the queen is wearing. Even though it's still early in the morning, the queen looks as flawless as ever. Emma hasn't seen herself in a mirror yet, but she guesses that her hair is messy from sleep and she might even still have pillow-imprints on her face. All at once, she feels inadequate compared to Regina, and has to consciously prevent it from showing on her face.
"Miss Swan," The queen greets, standing up and smoothing down her dress. The fact that Regina uses the name 'Miss Swan' is a good indication to what mood she's in. When the queen is vulnerable and she and Emma are connecting, like they had yesterday, she uses 'Emma', but when she's closed off, she uses 'Miss Swan'. Clearly she isn't in the mood to get deep today. Either that, or the fact that her guards are present means that she's got her walls up.
"Sleep well?" The queen asks.
"Very. Better than I have in days."
The queen looks neither happy nor sad to hear it, convincing Emma that she has, if fact, got her walls up. "Yes, I'm sure a proper bed was a nice change to the floor of the dungeon."
Emma nods. Never had there been a truer statement.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked to see you?" The queen walks to the centre of the room so that she's directly in front of Emma, who just nods again. "The reason that I called you here is because there's something that I'd like to show you."
Her expression gives nothing away. Is it something bad? Something good? Emma can't tell, and she wishes the queen would remove her mask so that she could know what's going on.
The queen looks behind Emma, to the door that the blonde had just walked through, and signals for someone to enter. Emma turns to see two guards: the one who brought her here, and another who seems to have appeared from no one. He's holding a cloche, concealing something on a large plate. While Emma wonders what it is, the guard walks past her to stand next to the queen.
Emma is intrigued by this, wondering what the queen could possibly have to surprise her with. The fact that it is on a plate makes her think it's food, and her stomach grumbles at the thought, informing her of how hungry she is. If the queen hears the noise, she doesn't comment on it, instead putting her hand on top of the cloche and looking at Emma as if to say 'are you ready'?
When Emma nods yet again, she lifts the cloche, stepping away as soon as she does to put as much distance between herself and the mystery item as she can. Emma also steps back, suddenly worried based purely on the queen's reaction, but then her eyes flicker to the plate and she sees that it's not that bad.
Disappointingly, it's not food, but it's also not something frightening enough to run a mile from.
It's a mouse.
And while the queen looks at it with much disdain and disgust, Emma just looks at it in confusion.
"It's a mouse," She states, but it's clearly not meant as a statement. There is an unvoiced question in there, asking why the hell the Evil Queen has brought her to her bedchambers to present her with a rodent.
Regina is a couple of metres away from little grey animal, which is on its hind legs sniffing at the air, but she side-glances at it. "Its not just any mouse, though I understand why you don't recognise it in this form."
Emma looks back to the animal, which is now walking to the edge of the plate as if it's trying to get to her. "What do you mean?"
"That's your little friend," Regina informs her. "Lucas, was it? The guard from yesterday. You asked me not to kill him, so-"
"So you turned him into a mouse," Emma finishes.
Regina looks at Emma with a hard expression. "You asked me not to kill him," She repeats, as though that explains everything. "He was rude to me and I had to teach him a lesson, but I listened to your only request, which was that I didn't kill him. So, yes, I turned him into a mouse, though the spell will wear off in a few days and he'll be back to his human form."
Emma watches the mouse - Lucas - as he continues to sniff the air in her direction as though he wants to be close to her. Emma caves and steps towards the plate that he's standing on, holding out her finger so that he can sniff at it. Regina watches, her face showing her repulsion.
"Would you get that thing out of here?" she says impatiently to the guard holding the plate. "I can hardly bear to be in the same room as it."
The guard nods obediently and steps around Emma, whose hand drops back to her side now that the mouse isn't sniffing it. As the guard departs, the queen dismisses the other guard as well so that she and Emma are alone.
As soon as the door clicks shut behind the two men, Emma turns back to the queen."You're not scared of a little mouse, are you?" she teases.
Regina scowls. "Of course not, though I won't be in the same room as one if it can be prevented. They're filthy creatures."
"You're the one who decided to turn him into a mouse," Emma reminds her. "You could have chosen a kitten, or a puppy." Emma looks down at her shoes and shrugs. "Or a tiny little dragon - that would have been cool."
When Emma glances at Regina, it's clear the queen is trying to hide a smile. "I'll try to be more creative the next time I turn someone into an animal."
"Does there have to be a next time?" Emma feels the need to ask. Although she'd rather the queen turn people into animals than kill them, there's still something niggling inside of her, reminding her that it's still not OK. It must be in her Saviour genes. Or maybe it's because she's a normal person with moral principles.
"I could have killed him," the queen reminds her. "But I didn't, upon your request. Now you're trying to tell me that I can't turn people into animals either?"
"I'd prefer it if you didn't."
"Don't push your luck, Miss Swan. Take the victory." The queen doesn't sound angry, or upset in anyway, come to that. In fact, it's quite nice to have a normal conversation with her, even if it is about a completely abnormal situation. It reminds Emma of being in Storybrooke with present-day Regina.
"Now," The queen claps her hands together and turns to face the breakfast table. "Care to join me for breakfast?" At the mention of a meal, Emma's stomach grumbles again. This time, the queen turns to her and lifts an eyebrow, her eyes going to Emma's stomach and then back to her face with a knowing smirk. "It sounds like your stomach would appreciate it," she comments as she makes her way to the table and takes a seat. "Though I do have one condition, and that's that you won't think about using your knife against me like you were going to the last time."
Emma smiles uncomfortably at the mention of the time she'd considered attacking the queen. "Sure." She heads for the seat across from Regina. "And I promise not to use my cutlery as a weapon against you. After all, you let Lucas live, so I suppose I owe you one."
It's only meant as a joke, but Regina looks at Emma thoughtfully. "You're right. I suppose you do owe me."
The look on Regina's face, as if she's trying to think of something that Emma could do to repay the debt, makes her squirm a little. But, for once, the Evil Queen doesn't look menacing. It's not a look that says she's going to put Emma through hell. If anything, it's playful and mischievous and it makes Emma smile.
"Don't be getting any crazy ideas," Emma says with a nervous laugh. "If anything, it was just a figure of speech."
"Hmm," The noise is supposed to sound like Regina agreeing, but the accompanied smug look means that Emma can practically see the cogs turning in the queen's head.
"I don't owe you that much. You've kept me prisoner for six days now; one act of kindness isn't going to make me owe you, I don't know, my firstborn child."
At that, Regina's face drops, becoming stony and closed-off, reminding Emma that she and the queen always seem to take two steps forwards and one step back. Emma doesn't even know why she'd said the words; they obviously weren't going to be well-received, given that the queen has never appreciated being reminded of her evil acts. Though sometimes Emma says stupid things without thinking them through, and this was clearly one of those times.
The queen looks down at the bread and cheese in front of her, which is what she and Emma are having for breakfast today and also happens to be the closest thing to grilled cheese that Emma's had in the past six days. Going so long without her beloved grilled cheese has been difficult, but the excitement that she should feel upon having something so similar doesn't come now that she's ruined Regina's mood.
While the queen starts to slice some cheese for herself more aggressively than necessary, Emma sighs and says, "Don't do this."
"Do what?"
"This," Emma indicates to the queen in general. "Close yourself off. We were having a normal conversation for once and now you're mad at me just because I said something stupid. I didn't mean to upset you."
Regina scoffs. "Oh please, Miss Swan, you didn't upset me."
"Fine. I didn't mean to piss you off. Whatever." The verb she chooses is irrelevant, all that matters is that her words have made Regina unhappy. A silence stretches out between them while Emma watches the queen and the queen ignores her and continues slicing cheese. "What was it that you've taken issue with? Me reminding you that I've been prisoner for six days or the joke about my firstborn child?"
"Just shut up and eat, Miss Swan," Regina says tiredly.
"Not until you tell me why you're... whatever you're feeling so that I can fix it."
"And why would you want to fix it?" Regina looks at Emma with exaggerated curiosity. She's definitely pissed off. "As you just said, I've kept you prisoner for six days. If you were in your right mind, you would want me to be miserable."
"Then maybe I'm not in my right mind."
Regina gives her a look that says 'you can say that again', which actually makes Emma smile because, even though it isn't meant as a compliment, it reminds her so much of Storybrooke-Regina that she feels a pit in her stomach that she can only label as homesickness.
And Emma is so caught up thinking about her Regina that she doesn't notice the strange look the Evil Queen is giving her until she says, "I don't understand you most of the time."
"What do you mean?" Emma asks with a frown.
"I mean why are you smiling like that?"
Emma brings a hand to her mouth self-consciously but doesn't say anything, so Regina shakes her head as though she's just about done with Emma and looks back down to her breakfast.
"Is it because I mentioned that you've kept me prisoner for six days?" Emma asks, reverting back to what they had been talking about. "Because yesterday you said that you'd looked at yourself - at your behaviour - and you hated what you saw. Do you hate that you've kept me prisoner?"
Regina doesn't look up. "Forget what I said yesterday. I wasn't thinking straight."
"I think you were. In fact, I think you were for the first time in a long time. I think you feel guilty about how you've treated people, including me-"
Regina scoffs and shakes her head. "Stop trying to make me out to be someone that I'm not, Miss Swan. You think that I feel remorse? You think that I feel guilty about the pain that I've caused? Don't be absurd."
"You can't backtrack now," Emma states, getting frustrated with the queen's denial. "Yesterday, you were honest with me about how you felt for the first time. You apologised for how you've treated me, which I think means that you feel bad about it. If that's the case, then of course you're not going to like me reminding you of what you've done to me, and it would be OK for you to be upset that I did."
"For the last time, Miss Swan, I am not upset."
Emma shakes her head, clearly not believing the queen, but says, "Fine. I'll take your word for it. But, just so you know, I know how hard it can be to talk about your feelings. Yesterday, you talked about yours, even if it was just because you were in the heat of the moment and it's something that you regret, but you still did and I respect you for that. You might feel vulnerable now, but I'm not going to judge you, your majesty. In fact, I appreciated the apology and I think better of you because of it."
The Evil Queen scowls at Emma, though it doesn't have the same ferociousness as it usually does. In fact, she looks torn between yelling at Emma and hugging her. In the end, she does neither, but she puts on a neutral face and says, "You should get started." She nods towards Emma's cheese and bread. "At this rate, that cheese will be mouldy and the bread stale by the time you get around to eating them."
Emma smiles, happy that the queen's bad mood seems to be dissipating, and starts to slice some cheese for herself. Keeping Regina happy seems to be the best move for Emma, so she begins to think of what she can say that will cheer the brunette up. In the end, she settles on, "Thank you, by the way. I don't think I've said that yet. But thank you for not harming Lucas, I really appreciate it. I don't know whether you spared his life solely because of me, or if you wouldn't have killed him anyway, but he's a good guy who doesn't deserve to be hurt or killed or whatever."
"You're welcome," Regina says simply, in a way makes Emma think that she's not taking her seriously.
"Honestly, though. Thank you."
"You've said that already."
"But I don't think you're hearing it."
"I can assure you, Miss Swan, I heard you the first time."
"Then be grateful."
Regina looks up at her and lifts an eyebrow as though Emma has just been audacious. "I said 'you're welcome' didn't I?"
"Yes, but-" Emma huffs and looks down, realising how conversations with the Evil Queen are exhausting. It's like a dance where she always has to try and avoid stepping on the queen's toes. "I don't understand you, either."
"Then the feeling's mutual."
Emma nods and purses her lips. "Was it just because of me then? That you didn't harm Lucas?"
"What do you think? Guards are replaceable and I have no remorse. In being insolent, Lucas proved that he may be more trouble than he's worth, so it would be easier for me to kill him and not have to worry about him. However, seeing as you're the only reason that he was rude to me in the first place, I can't say what punishment I would have given him if you hadn't asked me to spare his life. I may have killed him, I may have just banished him, who can say? I tend to go for whichever option is most convenient for me. But I..." Regina hesitates, as though trying to decide whether or not to continue. In the end, she decides to. "I admire how much you care about people. You're a good person, much better than I am, and I don't think it could hurt to take a leaf out of your book."
Emma feels a warmth inside her at getting something so close to praise from the Evil Queen. "Stop it," she says in an 'aw shucks' kind of way.
Regina smiles and busies herself with eating her breakfast, looking almost embarrassed that she'd complimented Emma Swan.
Emma is about to attempt to ease her discomfort by telling her how good the cheese is when a knock on the door causes both women to turn their attention to it. Emma glances at Regina and sees the brunette frowning slightly, as though she's trying to remember if she's expecting company. The door opens before Regina can give the person permission to enter, so Emma turns back towards the to see who it is.
Graham steps into the room, whistling to himself and so preoccupied in his own little world that he doesn't notice Emma until he's turned around after closing the door.
"It's you," he finally says dumbly.
"Yeah... it's me."
"You're here."
"Yep."
Graham's eyes are so focused on Emma that he doesn't seem to notice the way that Regina is looking between the two of them with a look of disbelief. She's obviously trying to gauge their relationship and, while Emma doesn't know what conclusion the queen reaches, she's clearly not happy about it. Her face becomes impassive, though it's much too forced to be genuine and, more than likely, is hiding anger. "You two know each other?" she asks, trying to sound upbeat but falling short.
"We met the other day," Emma explains. "When I was helping outside."
"Right. Before your attempt at a great escape?" Regina asks, disapproval lacing her voice.
Emma just nods, and Graham looks between the women awkwardly. "I'm sorry for interrupting," he says. "But don't we have an appointment, your majesty?" He raises his eyebrows pointedly at the queen, as though there was hidden meaning in his words. "Or is..." He looks back at Emma with a small frown. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."
"Emma. Emma Swan."
"Emma," Graham echoes. "Lovely name. It suits you." The way that the queen tenses doesn't go unnoticed by Emma, though it seems to by Graham. "Is Emma to be joining us?"
Joining them for what? Emma thinks, but whatever Graham had suggested does not sit well with the queen. She looks outraged. "Absolutely not! Don't make such absurd suggestions! Miss Swan will not be joining us, today, or any other day for that matter. You and Miss Swan have no business together. Understood?"
"Yes. My apologies, your majesty."
"And next time, Huntsman, wait to be invited into a room before you enter. Can't you see that I have company? Clearly our 'appointment' is no longer taking place."
Graham looks guilty and uncomfortable. "Again, my apologies, your majesty. I just thought..." He looks at Emma and trails off. "Never mind. Shall we reschedule?"
"No," Regina says simply, then hesitates and adds. "I'll call for you. Now, leave us."
Graham nods, looks to Emma, offers her a small smile, then backs out of the room, closing the door behind him. The queen turns back to the table and casually sips her drink, but Emma is curious about what just happened.
Appointment? Would Emma be joining? Joining what?
One minute she has no idea what Graham could have been referring to, but out of nowhere a thought comes to her which she knows without a shadow of a doubt is true.
Regina and Graham had a strange relationship in Storybrooke, maybe it had originated here in the Enchanted Forest. Didn't the story book say that the Evil Queen had Graham's heart? She could control him, make him do whatever she wants. What if what she wants is someone to fulfil her sexual needs?
Emma remembers the other day, when she'd seen the back of a topless man in the Queen's bedchambers. At the time, she hadn't known who it was, but now it seems so obvious. It was Graham, of course. And the 'appointment' that he had been referring to just now was sex! And he had asked if Emma would be joining? As in a threesome? Emma shudders at the thought. And, by the queen's reaction to it, she had too.
The thought of Regina and Graham - of the Queen and the Huntsman- fills Emma with a feeling that she can't quite pinpoint. All she knows is that she doesn't like it, and anger seeps into her veins the longer she thinks about it.
So, as often happens when she's annoyed, her mouth moves before her brain has approved the words, and she ends up blurting out: "So, that's your fuck buddy?"
Lacking all of the grace of a queen, Regina chokes on her drink and sputters into her cup. "Miss Swan!" she says, her voice shaky from coughing but still managing to convey her feelings about Emma's question.
"What? Is that not his official title?" Emma asks innocently. "Do you prefer manwhore? Sex friend? Fucquaintance?"
"It is not acceptable for you to speak to me that way."
"Oh, please. You can't act all high and mighty when I was almost just dragged into a threesome with you and your gigolo!"
The queen clenches her jaw and shakes her head. "It isn't like that."
"Then what is it like?" Emma asks. "Please, enlighten me."
Regina looks away from Emma, finds a spot on the wall and focuses all of her attention on that. "Fine. It's meaningless sex. But a woman has needs and I never hear him complain." Emma shakes her head in disapproval and the queen's eyes snap back to her. "You don't get to judge me. You have no idea what it's like to be the Evil Queen."
"You can't use that as your excuse for everything."
"I can when it's true. I am the Evil Queen, which means that I have no one. I am alone, completely alone, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life this way."
"And no one would expect you to, but why does that mean that you have to have meaningless sex with your huntsman? Why can't you find someone to love and love you back?"
Regina scoffs. "You say that like it's easy."
"Isn't it?"
Regina tilts her head to the side incredulously. "Miss Swan, no one wants to be with the Evil Queen. Look at me," She signals to herself. "I cause pain and misery on a daily basis. People fear me. They're scared that I'll hurt them, that I'll rip their hearts out, and even if I don't hurt them they can't handle the pain that I cause other people. I can't court someone like a regular person. People want to stay as far away from me as possible, and the only way that I can get them to stay is to make them."
"It doesn't have to be that way," Emma insists, trying not to show pity, which she knows the queen won't appreciate, even though her heart is aching for Regina.
"But it does," Regina says as though it's a sad inevitability.
"If you want to be able to love like a normal person then you have to act like a normal person. I'm not saying that you should change who you are, but this," Emma indicates to the whole room, the queen included. "Isn't you. Not completely. There's a normal, good person in there somewhere, under all of your anger and bitterness and pain. If you accessed her, if you approached someone like a regular person, if you didn't control them, if you were just yourself and said 'hey, would you like to date me, or court me, or whatever you do here,'" Emma waves her hand dismissively. "Then they'd probably say yes."
Regina looks at her closely for a moment before saying. "Alright. Would you?"
"Would I what?"
"Would you like to 'date me, or court me, or whatever'?" Regina imitates, trying to act nonchalant.
Emma is about to laugh, interpreting the question as a joke, but then she sees the nervous vulnerability in the queen's eyes. The brunette is trying to hide it, but Emma knows this woman so well that she can see it as clear as day. The Evil Queen is asking her on a date.
And Emma is so shocked and confused that all she can do is stare at the other woman. Ever since she showed up in the Enchanted Forest six days ago, Emma hasn't known what the Evil Queen was thinking or feeling. The queen has been horrible to her one minute, flirtatious with her the next, and Emma hasn't known what has been going on.
And this question feels like another curveball because Emma can't help but wonder why on earth the queen would want to date her, which then makes her wonder if she's joking. But she seems so genuine that it can't possibly be a joke. But it also can't not be.
Emma is so confused.
But the Evil Queen takes her silence as an answer to her question; that answer being no. She becomes stolid, sitting up straighter and swallowing hard. "Exactly," She says with a nod. "That's what I thought." She looks heartbroken, but still Emma can't do anything more than stare. "Breakfast is over," the queen finally announces, looking anywhere but at Emma. "You can go."
Emma doesn't move.
The queen glances at her and clears her throat, saying louder, "You can go." Still, Emma stays put. "Miss Swan, please get out of my bedchambers. I don't want to be around you right now."
Emma finally finds her voice. "But-"
"Go. Now."
"I don't think-"
"Go!"
Regina shouts, making Emma jump. The brunette sighs and looks away, as though Emma simply doesn't exist anymore. She's desperate for a distraction, so she picks up her knife and starts slicing pieces of cheese for her bread with so much force that, every time the knife hits the wooden plate, the sound is almost deafening in the silent room. Each noise makes Emma flinch and she half expects the plate to break in half, though it somehow doesn't.
After a few seconds, Emma stands up, mostly because she still can't think of anything to say. She doesn't want to leave, but she feels as though she can't stay. She inches towards the door slowly, not knowing where she is meant to go but not daring to ask the queen.
It's as she reaches for the door handle that Emma hears the queen hiss and drop the knife. She spins around and sees the queen grabbing one of her own hands with the other, her face contorted in pain.
"Have you hurt yourself?" Emma asks in concern.
The queen stands up, still clutching her hand, and turns her back to Emma. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not," Emma says, walking towards the brunette. "Let me see."
As she reaches Regina's side, she can see the brunette's hands. She can't see the wound because Regina is covering it, but she can see the blood running down her hand. She reaches out and urges Regina to show her the cut, which she reluctantly does. Emma holds the wrist of Regina's injured hand and inspects the area on her index finger where the knife blade has cut the skin deeply.
She shakes her head at Regina. "This is why you shouldn't use sharp knives so aggressively."
Regina glares and Emma but doesn't say anything.
"If you hadn't put this on me," Emma lifts her wrist to show the queen the magic-suppressing cuff. "I could heal you."
"I can heal myself," Regina says through gritted teeth. As though to prove her point, she waves her healthy hand over the wound and, after a glow of purple magic radiates from it, the injury is healed. "Now you can go," Regina says again. "You don't care about me and that's fine, but I don't want to be around you anymore."
Emma shakes her head, still holding Regina's wrist. "No. You didn't give me chance to explain myself. You took my silence as an answer when I didn't actually give you an answer."
"You didn't need to."
"You shocked me," Emma ignores the brunette's words. "You can't just suddenly ask me out and expect me not to be surprised. Even you have to admit that this was a little out of the blue."
"You think this was out of the blue?" the queen asks doubtfully. "Do you really think I make a habit out of seeing my prisoners everyday? Of inviting them for breakfast in my chambers?"
Emma tilts her head to the side. "You mean..."
The queen takes a breath and pulls her hand away from Emma's so that she can take a few steps back. "As soon as I saw you in that throne room I... I mean, I..." She sighs, obviously unable to find the right words. Emma has never seen Regina so flustered, either as Regina or the Evil Queen, so she stays silent and waits for her to gather her bearings. "As juvenile as it sounds, I suppose you could say that I had a crush on you. You're just the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen, and I didn't know how to handle it. I'm not very experienced when it comes to courting people."
"So, you've had a crush on me this whole time?" Emma asks, feeling slightly skeptical. Her time in the dungeon and being tortured by the queen certainly argue the opposite.
"It's pathetic, I know." The queens looks down, embarrassed. "As I said before, people don't stay with me unless I make them. So, I made you a prisoner so that you had no choice but to stay. All it took was for me to get angry once and I lashed out, locked you in the dungeon, and I was on a downward spiral. I kept on treating you worse and worse until you hated me, and now... here we are."
"I don't hate you," Is what Emma says first. And then, "And I had no idea that you felt that way about me. You've sent me pretty mixed signals, but mostly that you can't stand me. You've treated me terribly, so no, I don't want to date you."
The queen clenches her jaw and Emma can tell that she's about to shout or lash out again, so she steps forward and takes her hand. "Only because you've given me no reason to, though. You've only shown me the Evil Queen. Show me you. Show me Regina. Then ask me again and we'll see what the answer is."
Emma can't believe that she's said the words because she's literally admitting that she would want to date Regina, her Regina, Storybrooke Regina, and that's so confusing because Regina is her best friend and she has Killian.
But then the Evil Queen smiles at her, shy and nervous but happy that Emma's 'no' isn't a definitive 'no', and she looks so adorable that all of the thoughts about how weird this whole situation is leave Emma's mind.
The queen squeezes Emma's hand. "I don't even remember who Regina is," she admits.
"I'll help you find out."
A/N: I'm back for good, I promise! No more ridiculously long waits for chapters. I'm here to stay.
Are people still out there?
I haven't updated since the news of Jennifer Morrison leaving but I just wanted to say that I'm still going to write for this fandom and this ship because these characters are too good to abandon. SwanQueen is the greatest love story of all time, even if the writers didn't fulfil its potential. We can all still enjoy it. I hope you feel the same.
See you next time.