A/N: I know this chapter took me quite a lot to upload but I hope you're still with me; next chapter will be up soon. As always, thanks to Shelly for taking the time to beta this. I hope you like this chapter and don't forget to feed the writer! Enjoy :]

Disclaimer: The characters belong to ABC, not me.

The Princess and Her Sword

Chapter 12

Regina is sitting on the floor leaning against a column, hugging her knees, her eyes fixed to her feet. Emma ran and fell next to her on her knees.

"Regina? Can you hear me? Do you remember me?" Emma asked frantically.

The brunette slowly turned her head and looked at her. Her eyes were empty; the only thing Emma saw there was pain. She had been crying.

"Hey, your princess is here. Do you remember me?" Emma tried smiling softly, searching in Regina's eyes but the brunette remains silent. "I know you're there, somewhere. Come back to me, Regina."

The woman in front of her only stared. Suddenly Emma remembered what James had said about what the dementors do and an idea occurred to her.

"Remember Henry?" Emma asked, desperate for her lover to respond. "We're his mother's. You adopted him when he was a baby. We met in Storybrooke thanks to him. We made each other's lives a nightmare. You hated me, at least that's what I thought but—but you saved me and made me believe in everything I was too skeptical to believe. You turned my life upside down. I never thought I would find a true love but you made me believe I can have a happy ending because only you are capable of doing it: you are my happy ending."

Tears threatened to fall from Regina's eyes as she remembered. Emma continued, hoping to get through to her. "Do you remember when I told you I love you? It was just a few hours ago. I told you I would never leave you and I won't. I'm here."

After a beat, Regina finally opened her mouth to speak in a low murmur. "Love is weakness."

"No it's not." Emma argued.

"It is. I'm evil. I don't deserve love. No one will ever love me."

"Hey, look at me." Emma put her hands on both of Regina's cheeks forcing her to look at her. "I do love you." Regina shook her head, "I'm full of scars."

Emma forced her to look into her eyes when she looked away. "Everyone has them. None of your scars can make me love you less. You're perfect."

Emma leaned and kissed her. As their lips connected, Regina's back straightened, fearing the contact but she didn't back away. When they separated Emma whispered, "I love you."

Regina searched in Emma's eyes and, after a long moment, the sparkle came back into her beautiful brown eyes. Emma's face immediately brightened as Regina opened up again. She kissed Emma back, closing her eyes this time, enjoying the warmth of already familiar lips. As they separated, she leaned her forehead against Emma's and smiled.

"Emma," she whispered against her lips.

The blonde smiled back at her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm a little dazed."

"Come here." Emma grabbed her by her waist and helped her to stand up. When they turned, they saw Snow, James and Henry standing in the doorway. Emma eyed them carefully and held Regina slightly behind her in a protective gesture. There was a slight coldness in her tone when she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"We came to help you." Snow said lovingly.

She stared at them suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"

"Because we are your family."

She hesitated but finally gave in and nodded. "Clean the broken glass from the mattress." Snow did what she was told and James helped his daughter carry Regina to the bed. When Regina got comfortable on the sheets, Emma caressed her cheek.

"Can I get you anything?"

Regina opened her mouth to answer but Snow spoke first. "Chocolate will be fine."

They both looked at her and then Emma looked at Regina to confirm. She nodded.

"I'll go. James?" Snow glared at her husband and motioned to follow her. When they exited the room in silence, Henry approached the bed. Regina saw him and stared making him slightly wary of her presence.

"Hello Henry," she smiled weakly. A brief expression of confusion came over his face before he slowly took her hand in his. She squeezed and he looked up at her. "M-mom?" he asked uncertainly. She nodded still smiling and his face went pale. He looked at Emma and she kneeled before him.

"Do you remember her, Henry? Do you remember the last ten years now?" He opened his mouth but closed it again. The little boy looked back and forth between Emma and Regina. The blonde read his thoughts before he could ask. "She's not evil, Henry. She's changed." He stared at her birth mother and she nodded to reassure him. Suddenly a bright smile was directed at Regina. "Mom!" he said excitedly.

"Welcome back, Henry," the brunette said with such joy that the reunion was a momentous occasion for both of them. Emma stood up just in time when her parents came back with the chocolate. They offered it to Regina who eyed it suspiciously, still reluctant to accept their help but took it out of necessity. When she recovered a little, Henry climbed to sit at the end of the bed. Emma rested next to her and the other two recovered a couple of chairs that had been previously knocked over.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is you standing in front of…those creatures," Emma asked.

"I got to stop them before they could get to you. They were tough but I knew how to destroy them."

"You made a mess here," Emma said looking around.

"Well, what kind of fight would that be without fireballs and a few explosions?" she smirked raising an eyebrow. Emma grinned and rolled her eyes. Her Regina was back.

"However," the former queen continued seriously, "I'm afraid I know who is behind the attack."

"Who?" James asked, ready to fight on behalf of his daughter's lover.

"Rumpelstiltskin."

"But we made a deal! He never breaks his deals," Snow argued.

"Then there was something in that deal that you missed and now he is taking advantage of it. He must be looking for more power."

"He's trying to take our kingdom," James guessed.

Regina nodded, "Probably."

"But why now?" Emma asked frowning. There was a missing piece in the puzzle.

Regina shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he was waiting for the right moment."

"Then we need to fight back." James stood determined.

"Not so fast, Charming. We all know Rumple is not that easy to beat. You will need all your best men and any other help you can get. He must be ready for your attack so you need to be ready too." Regina couldn't stifle the yawn as she finished talking.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Now let's leave her to rest." Snow stood and looked at Regina. She nodded in gratitude.

"I will stay with her some more." Emma insisted.

"Of course, Emma," Snow nodded. Henry gave a quick hug to Emma and told her good night. Then he went to the bed and stood awkwardly in front of Regina. He seemed to hesitate but he finally jumped and hugged her as best as he could due to her sitting position.

"I'm glad you're not evil anymore, mom," he said. "Good night!" Snow, Charming and Henry left the room to give Emma and Regina their privacy. Emma laid next to her again and stared into her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Regina smiled deviously and cocked her head. "You won't get rid of me that fast."

"Oh, what a pity!" Emma sighed theatrically.

"Hey!" Regina pocked Emma playfully on her arm as they laughed. When she yawned again, Emma kissed her sweetly. "Sleep, my warrior."

She stood up but Regina grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Stay with me."

Emma smiled as she heard those words. They meant Regina was opening completely to her emotionally. Not like when she had told her the story about Daniel and her past, but on another level. The blonde knew there was more meaning to what Regina had asked: not only did she want Emma to stay with her for the night but forever. She saw Regina swallow, waiting for Emma to move or say something.

The blonde smiled wider, "Always."

Regina relaxed and smiled back. Emma moved to lay more comfortably next to her and buried her face in Regina's neck as Regina murmured a lazy "Good night, my love."