A/N: new chapter is up. School just started and I'm sick but writting is my getaway so I will try to upload as fast as I can. Special thanks to my beta Shelly, who works her magic to make this story readable; to Hannah for her support and giving it the last OK; and of course to my readers and reviewers for staying with me in this adventure, when I feel like giving up you make me keep working on this. I hope you like this chapter!
Note: The characters belong to the creators of Once Upon A Time, not me. Dementors are the creative property of J.K. Rowling.
The Princess and Her Sword
Chapter 11
The day was perfect, she thought. The sun in the sky shined brighter than ever as if sharing her happiness affected the weather. There wasn't a cloud in sight. The different animals from this land played together, dancing happily and singing between trees. She looked down at her bag and decided it was enough, so she headed back. As she arrived in the clearing, she smiled. It definitely was a perfect day.
Lying casually on the grass near the lake, their lake, was Regina with her eyes closed enjoying the sun as if she was on a beach.
Regina was an extraordinary woman that had changed her life who had brightened her life with her smile; the woman that she loved and loved her back; the woman made her want time to go slower.
Emma tied the small bag onto the belt of her tight brown trousers and tiptoed towards her, trying to be as quiet as she could. When she was close enough, she held her breath, waiting for the brunette to notice her presence but the beautiful woman still had her eyes closed and seemed oblivious to her.
In a fast motion, Emma leaned and covered her eyes with her hands. Regina panicked for a moment but as she felt soft locks caressing her skin followed by Emma's lips upon hers, kissing her upside down, her body relaxed. Emma slowly removed her hands and placed them above the brunette's eyes in a way that the sunlight didn't get into them directly. Green eyes full of joy locked with dark brown, which softened at the sight of Emma.
"I thought you would never come back," the brunette said, her lips twitching in a grin. Emma sat next to her and untied the bag. "These berries aren't so easy to find as you said." She opened it, revealing a small mount of red berried at the bottom. "Want some now and the rest we keep for later?"
Regina nodded and held out her left hand. The silver ring shone under the early sun on her finger and Emma could almost read the inscription written on it. She smiled.
Emma didn't need to read it because she knew it by heart; after all, she had chosen it herself. You're my one and only. Always, Emma.
"You don't like them?" Regina asked before eating two berries at once.
"I'm not hungry," she answered simply.
She saw the sparkle of the ring again and, reflexively, her fingers touched her own ring. She stared at it and read the inscription on it even thought she didn't need to read it either. My love for you will never stop growing. R.
She watched her lover eat the last berries; the woman who had saved her; the woman who made her heart flutter every time. Her wife.
Without a word, Regina stood up and stripped off her clothes. She walked naked to the edge of the lake. Shooting one last glance at Emma over her shoulder, she jumped without hesitation with a devilish smirk on her face. Emma waited her to surface from the water. The moments grew longer and longer but Regina didn't appear. Emma ran to the edge where Regina had stood not so long ago and searched for her but the lake was opaque. She jumped, not even bothering to take her clothes off and swam deeper into the water. She opened her eyes and scanned as far as she could see in the deepness.
She turned over and over until her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen but the only sign of life under the water were the colorful fishes. She swam back up to the surface taking a deep breath of needed air. When Emma opened her eyes, she saw her. Regina was lying where she had been when Emma returned from recollecting berries.
Emma stomped towards the shore, her clothes sopping wet, shaking her head.
"I love your magic, you know? Really! But if you ever do that again I will kill you," she shouted as she walked towards the former Mayor. "You scared me to dea—" Her words stopped immediately when she saw Regina not moving. The slow rise and fall of her chest was absent. Panic invaded Emma for the second time in ten minutes.
"Regina?" she called out. Emma ran and fell next to her wife, the tears already streaming down her cheeks as she looked closer at Regina. Her heart stopped when she saw a big dark red spot on Regina's white shirt. She kept calling out her name, but Regina didn't answer. Emma grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her, expecting to wake her up as if she was sleeping.
"Regina," Emma said desperately. "If this is another joke, it's not funny. Didn't you have enough fun already?" Emma searched for any sign of life in her lover's face but she found none.
"Regina," she cried. She kissed her lips once, twice, three times, waiting for the True Love's Kiss to wake Regina but she didn't, and the spot on her shirt only grew to become a larger red blur. Frantic now, Emma cried Regina's name repeatedly, loud at first but eventually becoming a whisper, while she cradled the brunette in her arms. "Please, please don't leave me. Come back to me, don't leave me. I love you," she whispered against her lips before bursting in tears again on Regina's chest.
Emma's eyes snapped open. Her breath was heavy, she was sweating and her heart was racing. She looked as if she had been running a marathon. She found her parents in front of her and Henry next to her. The trio was staring at her with their eyebrows furrowed in concern. Light horse steps that matched the movement got to her ears. She was in a carriage. She muttered a wordless and confused 'what' and then she felt Henry's hand on her right arm.
"What's going on, Mom?" She looked at him and then back to her parents.
"Where are we? Where are we going?" She ignored Henry's question. She didn't even know the right answer to it.
"We're on our way to our old castle in the south."
"The south? And Regina?" she asked raising her tone. At the lack of answer, her jaw fell open. "You left her there?! Why didn't you let me help her? I would have fought!"
"You weren't in any condition to fight, sweetheart," Snow tried to explain her reasoning. "The Dementors were influencing you too much. We couldn't leave you there. Obviously, you were their target."
"Did you at least order the guards to help her?"
More silence. Her parent looked at their hands with a guilty expression.
"I can't believe it! I can't believe you! Where's my sword?"
"It was left in your room," James said softly, aware of her daughter's temper. When he saw the expression on Emma's face he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry but there was no time. Well make you another one."
"No, I want my sword! Stop the carriage!" she ordered them. She stared at the couple but once again, they let the silence fill the space between them. Emma stood up with a determined look in her eyes. "Stop the carriage or so help me I will jump out while it's still moving!"
They gave in at her threat and the carriage came to a stop. "Emma, think about this," he tried.
"You left her there alone to what—die? I don't even know what those creatures are capable of!"
"They won't kill her," Snow said.
"Then what?" Emma spat.
Snow looked at Henry, whose eyes were wide with fear and confusion. He clearly didn't know what was going on. The pale woman sighed but it was James who spoke, "The Dementors make all your happy memories disappear, replacing them with your biggest fears and darkest memories."
"And you left her!" Emma repeated outraged at her parents' actions.
"Emma, we didn't have a choice! Only Regina would be able to destroy them. Any help from us would be useless."
"No," Emma argued furious. "You of all people know how powerful true love is. She may have done bad things, made the wrong choices but everyone has their flaws. I love her just the way she is: with her past, with her decisions, with her flaws. Because that's what makes her perfect." Emma opened the door of the carriage. "And I am coming back whether you want me to or not." She jumped out of the carriage and ran to her palace wishing it wasn't too late to save her beloved.
Emma thanked God while she avoided a giant root as she ran. Luckily they hadn't gone too far. In fact, if she hurried even faster she estimated she would arrive in two or three minutes. When she arrived, the front doors were closed. Emma pushed with all her strength but they were too heavy. Kicking it open was completely out of the question.
She took a few steps back and looked up. The large french framed window was broken. She looked down at her feet and saw the irregular pieces of colored glass under her boots. She hadn't even noticed them before. Her breath hitched as she realized something else: if the broken pieces were outside then something from the inside had made it break. Something like an explosion, she guessed.
She passed along the walls and ran to the garden. Emma climbed a tall tree easily and when she got to a branch just in front of an open window, she looked under her judging how far she was from the ground. If she fell, she would kill herself. On the other hand, if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to get into the palace and get to Regina. Without giving it a second thought, she quickly ran the length of the branch and jumped. Her chest hit the castle molding hard enough to knock the wind out of her but she rapidly held on for dear life to prevent her fall. Grunting as she climbed over, she fell nimbly on her feet inside the castle.
Scanning the corridor, she noticed how tidy it was. Nothing was broken or out of place. She hurried to her bedroom where she had last seen Regina. The door wouldn't open. She pushed and budged and the door moved slightly but didn't open completely. Something felt heavy against the door so she pushed again harder this time, and the wooden door moved enough for her to see her own chest of drawers leaning against it.
She took a few paces back and ran, ramming the door with her left shoulder. The door flew open entirely and Emma fell on the shoulder she used to gain entry. Excruciating pain shot through her body but she ignored it. Emma looked around the room to find that everything was trashed. Furniture upside down, more broken glass, the mattress lying haphazardly on the floor.
But none of it mattered when she saw Regina.