AN: Apologies for another long wait. Many thanks to my beta eSQuses. Let me know what you think of this chapter and I hope you like the twist that this chapter creates.
Regina couldn't complain. Her stay in the White kingdom was really good. The people were nice, the landscape was beautiful and above all else, she had Emma by her side at all times. She couldn't complain, not really. Except that even all the perks could not stop Regina from cringing at the palace decorations. Emma's room looked nice, if not filled with too much pink and fluff. Emma shrugged and said it was her mother's doing. Turned out Queen Snow loved all things pastel and fluff and pink. Regina felt a shiver down her spine.
Emma had asked they meet in the forest. When Regina saw what her fiancée wore to their meeting she decided then and there that unless Emma was really fond of it, the pink had to go. Emma was still beautiful, incredibly so, it just didn't seem to match her personality at all. The blonde simply rolled her eyes when Regina started to laugh.
"Mom wanted us to spend some quality time together. This means I have to dress like this. I barely made it out alive."
"Remind me to not let your mother decorate our quarters."
"Deal. I've had it with the pink. I prefer yellow and red. Though, to be fair, we do have a certain appeal right now. Me in a pink princess dress and you in that coat that looks almost out of the military. Quite a story cliché, not that I mind."
Regina smiles at Emma's ramblings. She finds her quite endearing when she rambles like that.
"So, what do you have in mind, Emma?"
"You mean besides kissing you senseless?"
Regina swallows hard. This was a rather mild suggestion, but Emma is quite bold, and she's getting bolder by the day around Regina. Not that Emma struck her as someone weak. As a princess she should be a diplomat, yet Emma is turning out to be quite crass around her at times and, damn, that turns Regina on so much. She almost wants to face palm at the thoughts running through her mind right now.
"Umm, Regina?"
"Sorry. I..." She looks down and Emma feels smug all of a sudden. Regina's mind was definitely in lala land and it makes her feel bolder somehow.
"Were you thinking about the ways I would kiss you, and where, and how it would feel?"
Regina looks up at the blonde and gives her a weak smile. She's been caught, though it was probably what Emma wanted.
"That outfit ruins the mood."
Emma rolls her eyes, but she gets it. With a poof she changes into a pair of skin tight leather pants and knee high boots with an untucked loose blue shirt. Her hair is pulled up in a loose ponytail.
"How is this?"
"Peasant-like."
"Seriously, Regina?"
"You asked a question and I answered, which is more than what you've done."
Regina waves her hand and Emma is engulfed in golden smoke. When it clears up, Emma is standing there in tight pants and knee high boots, a white tank top, and a red leather jacket, princess curls hanging free down her back. Emma looks surprised.
"Red leather jacket?"
"I like red and I find it all oddly perfect for you to be honest."
Emma assesses her outfit one more time before she looks up at Regina, a big grin making its way to her face.
"Oh, this is like in your vision. Vision you said she didn't like it."
Regina blushes. She actually likes it and she has a distinct feeling vision her also liked it but was just teasing Emma.
"Well, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about."
"And?"
Regina smiles. She quite likes it if she's being honest. That jacket screams Emma to her. There is Emma and it matches her and its tacky, but she secretly adores it. Emma seems to catch onto it and smiles in return.
"Oh well, happy wife, happy life."
Regina rolls her eyes, the smile on her face somehow growing bigger. She loved how the word wife rolled off Emma's tongue. Her wife. Future wife but it won't be long now. In the few seconds she ponders it, she realizes she's completely head over heels in love with the blonde. Trying to regain her composure, she tries to change the subject.
"So, where are we going?"
"Oh, right. Wait, how did you know we are going somewhere?" Regina eyes her unimpressed. "Ok, ok, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, I do."
Emma grabs Regina's hand and poofs them away. As the smoke clears and Regina looks around her surroundings, her eyes falling to the city that spreads a their feet just beyond the cliff. Tall walls adorn the city edges and within it she can see incredibly tall buildings made of glass. As her eyes sweep over the city she sees the most impressive building stand proud and tall in what appears to be the middle of the city. A gasp escapes her as she realizes where they are.
"Emma, we shouldn't be here."
"It's fine. I thought we should have a look around."
"Emma, this is the forbidden city. It's been sealed shut for hundreds of years. They say a great evil is sealed in there. "
"Stories to scare people."
"The city is clearly preserved with some form of magic and nothing lives in it."
She looks at Emma and she is more scared than she's ever been, "Emma, please tell me you haven't tried to go in."
Emma looks down at her boots.
"I can't believe how reckless you are. What were you thinking?"
"I don't know. I just felt drawn to it."
"Emma," Regina's tone is both a warning and filled with worry at the same time.
"I couldn't get in. But I thought that maybe we could go in together."
"No."
"Regina, come on. This city is half on your side, half on mine. It's been sealed shut. Don't you want to know what happened? How it looks like from the inside?"
"No."
Emma narrows her eyes.
"You're lying. You so want to see it."
"Do you even realize how dangerous it is? I don't want to lose you!"
"You won't, we are so much stronger together. Please, Regina."
In the end Regina gives in and follows Emma to the city walls. They're impressive, made out of massive glass. They touch the walls together and the magic shield around the city flickers for a moment, then drops.
"No turning back now."
"I can't believe what you made me do."
They walk through the open gate in the wall, and realize the magic shield was put in place to make sure the gate won't be used.
As they walk through they see a quiet city, nothing moving, no sounds. The streets are in disarray and here and there they see barriers that were constructed as if to keep something out, but there is nothing in there. Just glass, breaking further under their feet. They head towards what they assume is the palace and, as they approach it, they both stop dead in their tracks. They're in the park, the one from Regina's visions, the one where they saw a small boy run to them and call them mama and mommy and Regina gasps unable to hold back her shock. Emma's grip on her hand tightens. She knows what Regina is thinking.
"We shouldn't be here, Emma."
Emma looks at their surroundings and then at the brunette.
"This is the city in your visions."
"Which is why we shouldn't be here."
"Maybe we can prevent the future and we will make sure that we will have all the happy moments."
Regina knows Emma is referring to their children and she feels so conflicted.
They look towards what appears to be the palace and make their way there.
The palace is in no better shape than the city. They walk around the halls and that's when they see it - the coat of arms like the one in Regina's vision. They continue to walk the halls until they reach some large doors that are open. A glittering jewel catches Emma's eye and she bends to pick it up. It's a wedding band with a really intricate design. Inside the band there is a symbol nothing else. Emma looks at it in confusion.
"What's that?" Regina says as she comes up behind Emma.
"Looks like a wedding band."
Emma fiddles with the jewel a few seconds more before she looks up at Regina. She grabs Regina's left hand and looks her straight in the eyes.
"Will you, Regina, take me, Emma as your wife?"
Regina rolls her eyes at her fiancée. Emma is up to her games again. It's been a common occurrence with them, to play like this. Emma's imagination did run a bit wild and Regina was more than happy to accommodate her. Like, pretend they are two strangers meeting in a bar and hitting it off. It's was their own weird way to let loose and forget for a moment their status. Of course, this wasn't helped at all by their first meeting and Emma's conclusions as to Regina's field of work. Regina realized she was lost in thought and that Emma was waiting for a reply.
"Yes, I do."
Emma smiles brightly at her as she slides the wedding band on her fiancée's hand. It's a perfect fit. The playful mood was instantly broken for Regina. Her eyes cloud and her vision goes elsewhere to a distant time.
She looks around and there is a room full of people staring at her and whoever is next to her. A person dressed in white, with long blonde hair, braided in a beautiful bun at the side of the head, bright green eyes and a loving smile on her lips.
"Emma..." Regina all but gasps and she's pretty sure it's because of the vision.
"We need to find its half."
"No, what we need is to get out of here. This is not funny at all."
"I didn't say it's funny," Emma is suddenly on the defensive.
"You're clearly not taking it serious enough."
"If you don't want to be here then leave. I'll explore on my own."
"I don't want to be here, but I'm also not going to leave you here alone. We came in together, we leave together. I'm not leaving without you, Emma."
"Ok, then help me look for its pair."
"Fine." Regina waves her hand over her own ring and a faint golden strand moves from her ring towards its pair.
"Cool."
Emma drags Regina through the palace, going up and up until they reach the rooftop of the palace. Regina beelines for the ring and picks it up from the floor. She goes back to Emma who holds her palm up. She can clearly see Emma's mood was ruined as well and she can't help but feel bad that she upset the blonde. She looks at Emma for a few more seconds before grabbing her left hand.
"It's only fair," and Emma's face breaks into a full grin that's about to become teary as she's filled with emotion.
"I thought you didn't want to play along."
"Well, to repeat what you said earlier, happy wife, happy life." she clears her throat. "Do you..." Regina wants to ask if Emma's alright with it but the blonde interrupts her.
"Yes. Put it on already."
Regina then slides the ring on Emma's hand without any further hesitation. Emma stares at her ring for a moment longer before she wraps her arms around Regina's neck.
"You may now kiss the bride."
Regina let's out a laugh at the blonde's antics, but closes the gap between them and gives her a much desired kiss. Unknown to both of them, their rings start to glow in a mixture of gold and silver for just a few seconds.
