Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Topic: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Swan Queen (Emma and Regina)
Rating: M (possibly maybe at some point)
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the places or characters in it nor do I own anything to do with the Wizard of Oz. This is all just for fun blah blah blah…
Summary: Set after the fiasco that is about to happen with the Wicked Witch in Season 3. During a feast to celebrate the victory Henry is snatched and Emma and Regina must face the prospect of having to search for their son yet again. This time they must find their way through the strange and sometimes terrifying Land of Oz to rescue him before they lose him forever.
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Chapter 10: The Morning After The Night Before
Emma was forced awake by an annoying knocking sound. It took her several seconds to break out of her warm cocooned state of sleep and remember she was in Oz and they needed to get up and rescue Henry. The warm, soft body that was pressed up against her shifted slightly and Regina groaned, burying her head further into Emma's neck. The blond was wondering if the brunette was regretting her decision to spend a quarter of the short time they had to sleep to 'rest her soul' instead.
"Getting up!" Emma shouted, hoping the Tin man would hear and desist with the racket. Her raised voice drew another groan from Regina before the brunette dragged herself up into a sitting position. Regina's hair was deliciously roused from sleep and their earlier activities. The brunette glanced sideways at the mess that was falling over her temple and cheek and tried to use her hands to comb through the bed hair and flatten it again. It was only partly successful but Emma appreciated the view it provided her of the other woman naked.
There was very little light pouring through the windows as it was only dawn but there was enough light for Emma to be able to see the curves and lines of Regina's body clearly. The brunette noticed Emma's eyes raking all over and smirked before dropping a quick kiss to the blonde's lips. Emma didn't get time to enjoy the kiss because as quick as Regina started it she had finished it and was climbing off the bed to retrieve her clothing. On any other day Emma would have moaned at the loss and drew the other woman back to bed but this day they needed to get moving and rescue their son so Emma rolled out of the bed and joined the brunette on her clothing search.
"Hey" Emma greeted softly as the brunette handed her jeans over. The blond felt the need to test the water between the two of them after such a momentous occasion. At least it was a momentous occasion for her and she hoped it was for Regina too.
"Hey" Regina replied, halting her attempts at getting dressed to place a reassuring soft kiss on Emma's lips. Two kisses in the space of a minute set Emma's mind at ease. They may both be emotionally dysfunctional when it came to others but apparently they were doing quite well at being emotionally dysfunctional together. Of course talking about it would be another matter no doubt but for now Emma was pleased that the brunette hadn't woke up and shut down again.
"So after we got through the portal you were unmoved by my kissing skills…what about now?" the blond couldn't resist asking as she clambered into her underwear and jeans. Regina chuckled at the blonde's cocky smile before pulling her in and kissing her briefly but deeply. It was the kind of kiss that left Emma in no doubt that the brunette enjoyed it.
Regina pulled away and smiled brightly before continuing to dress. The other woman's happy demeanour reminded Emma that they had ended up making love because of the bizarre 'couple's therapy' effect the meadow had had on them. Unlike the day and evening before Emma didn't feel irritable at all and Regina was practically skipping around the room. It had either been really REALLY great sex or something odd was going on.
"How do you feel?" Emma asked the brunette as they put their tops on and straightened their clothing out.
"Great actually" Regina admitted as they left the bed room and entered the living room.
The Tin man was stood in the open doorway of the hut looking out into the meadow. When he saw them enter he greeted them cheerfully.
"Good morning ladies" he waved his hand dramatically, causing the metal joints to creek loudly.
"You're…chipper" the blond mused. The metal man had been perfectly friendly the day before but had not been so bouncy. Perhaps he did much better on three hours of sleep than humans tended to do.
"I have my heart back" he declared, slamming his hand against his chest dramatically and making a loud clang. "I was a little perturbed by the fact you were in my bed but you activities seem to have broken whatever curse the Witch had over this land."
Regina coughed uncomfortably from behind her and Emma found herself blushing ferociously. They had forgotten to be quiet in all the excitement so it was obvious that he would have heard them. Emma just didn't expect him to come right out and say it.
"Oh….OH!" It suddenly dawned on her what the Tin man was also saying. If they broke the curse through their actions then that meant something very significant didn't it?
"Does that mean we shared true love's kiss?" she directed her question towards Regina.
She swung around to the brunette and smiled brightly. The feelings their night had released in her had made Emma giddy enough but the idea that they were somehow meant to be together was completely thrilling. She was obviously a true 'Charming' after all if the idea of true love made her so spectacularly happy.
"Who'd have thought?!" she continued to chuckle as she watched the brunette shift her weight awkwardly from foot to foot and her cheeks colour. Emma couldn't recall having ever seen the other woman blush and it was oddly endearing. She knew better than to comment though as Regina was obviously finding the situation overwhelming enough as it was. Emma decided to cut her some slack for now.
"We should probably get going" the Tin man broke the silence. "Those soldiers will be waking now too but they have to pack their camp up. So if we leave now it should keep you ahead for long enough to rescue your boy."
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The Tin man's cabin turned out to be only an hour's walk away from the yellow brick road and the edge of the meadow. After around thirty minutes of comfortable silence Emma had felt the brunette's hand slip into her own. They had remained side by side with hands entwined for the remainder of the walk, sharing occasional smiles and longing looks. Emma had been careful not to comment on Regina's affectionate behaviour for fear of scaring the brunette. She was just pleased that Regina was initiating the contact. Any serious conversations could be left until after they had found henry and returned to the Enchanted Forest safe and sound.
At the end of the meadow there was a thin area of woodland which the Tin man insisted on crossing. It was his opinion that they should remain off the road still as he suspected that this close the Witches castle they would be detected on the road. Emma and Regina had went along with his plan and after a few minutes they had picked their way through the woodland and were out the over side into an area of flat farmland.
"This land belongs to the Witch" the Tin man informed them, "the people of the village are her slaves so we'd be wise to stay well away from there."
Emma couldn't see a village but then she couldn't even see a castle yet either. She was sure they were not too far away though as the Tin man was becoming edgy and she could sense a blanket of magic. It wasn't like the dark forest of the cursed meadow were magic was obviously present but in a still form. This was active and vibrant magic and it made the air tingle around her. A sideways glance at the brunette who was still hand in hand with her suggested that the brunette could feel it too. Regina had her eyes closed and her brow was scrunched up with concern.
"I think the Scarecrow is just a mile along" the Tin man continued, oblivious to the magical vibes the two women were getting. "He has been watching the castle. If anyone knows how to get you in undetected it will be him…unless you plan to just go knock on the front door?"
Emma cringed at the man's words. She had no idea what they were going to do when they got to the castle…she had just been in a rush to get there. How do you plan to gain entrance to a place you do not know anything about?
"If that is what it takes" Regina admitted calmly, unfazed by the fact the Tin man had just called them out on their lack of foresight.
"We'd certainly be open for more subtle methods though" Emma added quickly.
They began to walk again and after about fifteen minutes the Tin man raised his hand to stop them and pointed to a figure just ahead of them. About a hundred yards away there was a Scarecrow on a pole with its back to them. The Tin man whistled loudly and suddenly the Scarecrow twitched into life. Even though she had already met a talking lion and a metal walking talking man she still had difficulty believing her eyes as the straw stuffed figure unhitched itself from the pole and gave itself a good shake out.
"This place really is unusual" Emma muttered as she released the brunette's hand finally so she could wipe the sweat of her face.
"Everything in life is unusual until you become accustomed to it" Regina pointed out. "Just think about how strange and foreign the idea of the curse was and now you know and accept the fact that you are the saviour, have fairy tale parents and are now sleeping with your evil step grandmother."
Emma rolled her eyes at the brunette. It wouldn't be Regina if she couldn't find something to say to get a rise out of her.
"I still don't really accept that I am the saviour…" Emma replied wearily as she watched the Scarecrow approach them out of the corner of her eye. "…And please never mention the grandmother thing ever ever again."
Regina let out a deep chuckle at the blonde's discomfort before wrapping her arm around Emma's jean clad waist and pressing them closer together so they were stood hip to hip. Emma tried to resist smiling at the brunette's antics but gradually she gave in and her grin became larger and larger. She had actually been quietly pleased that the brunette had used the plural 'sleeping' rather than just the singular 'slept'. It suggested that Regina thought there would be repeat performances.
"Scarecrow!" the Tin man brightly greeted his friend, bringing Emma guiltily out of her thoughts. "These are friends of Dorothy!"
The Scarecrow's gate was awkward and he virtually wobbled the last couple of metres before stopping in front of the trio.
"Is she safe?" the straw man asked, concern lacing his surprisingly high pitched voice.
"Yes she is in the enchanted forest with Emma's parents" Regina assured him as she released Emma and became utterly serious again. "We have come to get our son."
The Scarecrow observed them both briefly before taking a deep sigh. Emma felt her heart sink at the negativity in his reaction. Please let Henry be okay her mind begged.
"If boy was the one she flew into here two days ago then we must move fast if you wish to rescue him" the Scarecrow explained the situation. "The witch hopes to use him in her magic to protect the castle from her enemies."
"The army" the Tin man stated. Suddenly Emma was even more aware of the proximity of Oz's men. They were surely only a couple of hours ahead of the force now and that meant that Henry was doubly in danger. Firstly there was the risk of being killed in the crossfire but more pressingly he was in danger of being used in some sort of magic before the soldiers even arrived.
"She is scared of the army and of Dorothy" the Scarecrow stated. When he saw that Emma and Regina looked a little surprised by his answer he tried to explain. "Four years ago a much younger Dorothy killed her grandmother. There was peace for a year but then the daughter and granddaughter returned to the castle. The daughter went to wreak havoc on new worlds but news reached us only days ago that she was dead…"
"Yes we know that" Regina cut into the story irritably. "Emma killed her."
Emma gave the brunette a disapproving sideways glance and the other woman raised her hand in apology. The Scarecrow seemed unperturbed by the brunette's ire but did cut the story short to explain the most significant part.
"Well the young witch is fearful of her fate" the raggedy straw man stated matter of factly; "and she plans to use the blood of the truest believer in a spell to ensure she becomes untouchable."
"How much blood?" the Tin man asked his friend before either woman got the chance. "Are we talking just a few drops or…?"
"It's dark magic" the Scarecrow replied nervously, "I would work on the assumption she requires a lot more than that."
A lot more than that. The words repeated in Emma's head and made it spin uncontrollably. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her sails at the news and for a second she felt lost and dizzy.
"Henry" she heard her son's name slip from her own mouth without even meaning to speak. Then the brunette's voice dragged her back to her senses.
"Can you help us get into that castle Scarecrow?" Regina asked the straw man, her voice full of regal authority and steely determination. Emma understood that tone well. The brunette was past the point of anger and was now totally mad. Angry Regina shouted and made brisk comments. Mad Regina became totally unreadable and deadly practical.
The Scarecrow looked to the Tin man for assurances and when the metal man nodded the straw man gestured for them to follow him.
"I do know a way in" he said as they began to walk. "I also know a way to defeat the witch once and for all."