Author's Note: Back with an update. So not only will this chapter explain what Emma and Steven have planned but it also gives a great deal of background surrounding Regina and Maleficent's past and how they've come to be where they are. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks as always to those who take the time to read, review, favorite, and put this story on alert. It means a lot to know that you are all invested in this story.

Not beta read, so all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 13
'Plans Change'

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Several servants came into the room to refill their cups or take away one dish to replace it with another, but none of them spoke. They seemed far too interested in something interesting on each of their shoes or was it the floor? Was there some underlying pattern to the tiled floor that Emma couldn't see? Was it only for them to know?

Emma tried to smile at each of them as they came closer but her smile was lost to them as they never lifted their gaze to her eyes. She thanked each of them softly, the only words she'd said since walking in and taking her seat. After several dishes had been removed and other's placed in their place the servants filtered out, leaving only one older looking gentleman to stand in the corner of the room who would refill their drinks. He stood still, his back straight and hands clasped behind his back as he stared down at the floor as well, trying for all the world to appear like he wasn't even in the room at all.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, surprisingly. Emma wished for nothing more than to speak with Regina about the plans she had for their (hopefully) continued alliance. Every time she thought she could say a word, say anything at all, the words caught in her throat. Being who she was, the Princess and daughter of Snow White and King James, the thought that she was unable to speak her mind when she wished to alarmed her. However as the silence continued and their meals were placed in front of them she found there needn't be any words spoken between them, not yet.

The soul sounds of their utensils touching their plates or their goblets being placed on the tabletop echoed through the dining hall. Neither seemed willing to break the comfortable silence that had descended over them. With Maleficent otherwise occupied with Steven the two women could focus on their own thoughts. Emma thought briefly about her friend and hoped that he was able to calm the blonde shape shifter. Emma had no intentions of hurting Maleficent. She did not wish to be the blonde's enemy. She wished for them to have some kind of peaceful relationship. If it turned out that she could not gain Maleficent's favor, then she would settle for a less antagonistic relationship. After all, the witch needed Emma's help, whether Maleficent wanted to admit it or not.

The only thing standing between Maleficent and Regina and their demises at the blade of the guillotine was Emma and Steven. Should Emma withdraw her support of either woman there would be nothing Steven could do—save challenge his father for the throne. A throne that Steven was never meant to inherit as the second born son of King Phillip and Queen Aurora. The drama of Steven challenging King Phillip for the throne would cause a rift in the Primrose family that would never heal. Steven did not wish to rule, he would never wish to take that honor and right away from Desmond. Desmond was Steven's best mate.

The bond that the two brothers shared went down to their very souls. They looked as if they were one person but once a person came to know both Princes it was easy to distinguish between the two of them. Desmond was rougher in his very movement. His body language was closed and like King Phillip Desmond hardly ever smiled. One would be hard pressed to get Desmond to laugh as easily as Steven laughed or joked. It was easy to see who Desmond took after in their parents and ever clearer to see whom Steven resembled in personality.

Steven would not challenge his father for the throne unless there was no other way to save Maleficent. He would only ever risk his family if it was to save Maleficent from death or defeat. Steven had unending faith in Maleficent's strength and power and most especially her love for him and his family. Maleficent would not be the first to attack, even Emma knew that. If there was to be a war between Maleficent and her forces and King Phillip and his forces, King Phillip would be the one to attack first. If it came to war, Emma knew that Steven would have no choice in the matter.

Sadly, if Emma were to withdraw her support of Maleficent (and thus Regina as well) the probability of Steven having to live his most feared nightmare would become a certainty. King Phillip was pushing incredibly hard for Emma's father to join him in his crusade against Maleficent and Regina. What held King James from committing his soldiers and his efforts to match Phillip's was Emma's determination that there was a way around the bloodshed that would satisfy everyone. That she could fulfill her destiny without having to kill anyone 'else'. Not that she planned on killing Regina but if it kept her Kingdom from joining the egotistical whims of another King's army then she would pretend like she was as bloodthirsty for Regina as she needed to be.

There was the small itty bitty tiny fact that Fate itself seemed hard pressed to release Emma from her 'destiny'. A destiny Emma no longer wanted. Growing up she had been proud of her destiny, of the stories and fables and faith that was placed in her before she was even born. Now she despised it all. She no longer wanted to be the White Knight, she did not want to be the Savior. Not at the cost of Regina's life. Sighing, Emma pushed some of the eggs around on her plate finding it suddenly difficult to eat anything at all.

For most of their shared meal their thoughts were on the same subject: the immediate future. It concerned them both the most. The welfare of those they cared about were most prominent in their minds as they sat before the other but hardly even dared look across the table at each other.

How it was they were going to protect the people they loved was where their thoughts tapered off into different territories. Although both had hopes for what could happen in their foreseeable future they feared speaking of it aloud lest they jinx themselves.

Emma was concerned that Regina and more importantly Maleficent would find her 'plan' immature in its simplicity. It wasn't simple or simpleminded, as Emma would imagine Maleficent saying. On the surface the plan was straight forward. If she was given the go ahead by both witches the nature of the plan would become a bit more complicated. Emma wanted to continue her 'relationship' with Steven in the open back at the Primrose Castle. With people seeing them together there would be less questions asked about their 'disappearances' for the days. Those disappearances Emma planned would bring them back here to Maleficent's fortress or to Regina's Dark Castle.

Regina wanted a personal trainer of sorts. She wanted to learn how to defend herself without her magic. Emma and Steven were the most qualified combatants that Regina would ever be able to find. Emma could teach Regina how to fight; hand to hand combat and Steven could visit with Maleficent without being scrutinized for his absences by his mother. He would be with her and so long as their cover wasn't blown they would be able to continue the charade for at least two months. In two months' time Emma was expected to return to the White Castle.

If by then Emma hadn't been able to finish the second part of her plan—which was going to be the hardest bit. It no longer kept the four of them trapped in their own bubble; it placed them in the center of a larger stage with people surrounding them on all sides. People who were not as willing to forgive and held prejudices against both Maleficent and Regina, people like her mother and father and Phillip. They were going to be the hardest people to convince in this matter. Emma would like to think that her mother was several steps closer to 'forgiving' Regina than her father was. Something about the conversation her mother had with the Dark Queen had tainted her personal thoughts about her former step-mother. Emma hoped that as time passed she would be able to extract that conversation from Regina so she knew what she had in her favor and what she didn't.

Regina in the meantime was mulling over the probable possibility that anything the Princess had planned could be a scheme to capture her head. The bounty was still present, it had not been revoked. There were still bounty hunters looking to mount her head over their mantels and collect the reward money—which had been doubled now that King Phillip had put his hat in the race. It wasn't as if Regina thought it would be easy to reintegrate herself here in this realm. She had expected a great many trials and tribulations to await her here. However she hadn't expected to return to a bounty on her head or the warm reception from former commoners.

The rousing welcome by former servants and townspeople of her former lands had been overwhelming. They had come by the dozens. The word of her return traveled at light speed thanks to the Mirror and with that speed came the haste of hundreds looking to pledge themselves to the Dark Kingdom, her Kingdom. A Kingdom she had left behind nearly two decades before with the promise of never returning.

The village leaders of nearly a dozen towns scattered through her lands had pledge fealty to her the day after her return. In the last week since her return ten more had sent representatives with word of their everlasting fealty and support. Her castle was alive with the bustle of the servants whom had returned looking for their former positions. Along with their children and grandchildren the deserted castle she had returned to that first day was full of life and laughter. There were no longer any cobwebs or echoes of lonely footsteps or the whining of the wind as it travelled through the empty rooms and halls. Now there were hushed voices and dozens of footsteps and cleaned walls and rooms to share and keep filled. The sounds of laughter in the courtyard that woke Regina up several days ago had nearly made her cry. She wished with all her heart that her father—who had always loved their home and thought she was too hard on the people who were most loyal to her—was here to see how right he was.

Positions were filling faster than Regina had been able to name them. The last position she needed filled was an arms trainer, a personal sparring partner. Regina was decent with a sword but her inability to defend herself without magic and a weapon pressed her to learn how to protect herself immediately. Goddess forbid she find herself without magic and weapons again while facing a trained assassin hell bent on killing her.

Her Generals had returned to her along with half of her army. The other half had passed on in her absence and was being filled with new recruits. Several companies of her returned army had already been sent to defend the villages and towns around the border of Maleficent's land and King Phillip's Kingdom. The King's men had been attacking and pillaging the villages since before she had returned. When their King sent out an edict calling his people to protect themselves against the immorality and evil of dark witches the villages who'd already been bullied along the borders of the two kingdoms had nearly been leveled to the ground.

The villages along the borders of her lands were the first to pledge themselves to her when she returned. No matter the distance their representatives were the first to reach her Castle and they were the first to tell the Mirror of their loyalty. They would be defended and protected for their loyalty. Unlike the other monarchs that fought over whom the villages and towns belonged to on the borders of their two lands, Regina defended any and all that showed they were loyal to her. She had offered the protection of the White Kingdom to many of these villages while ruling beside Leopold. When she had left the White Kingdom, pushed out by Snow and James, they had all pledged themselves to her. With those villages pledging themselves to her she formed her own land surrounding the Dark Forest.

Her land formed a sort of disfigured…child drawn heart. As ironic as it seemed to be there were two larger loops at the head of her lands that met with a steep incline that bypassed most of Reds Wood and some of the remainder of villages loyal to Snow. In the center of the heart shaped land was the entirety of the Dark Forest which she controlled practically unconsciously with her magic. Towards the bottom at the tip was where her land touched Maleficent's land and the rounded edges of the heart was where the border villages touched King Phillips land. Regina had not meant to keep half the White Kingdom when she was overthrown by Snow White and her army of ragtag rebels.

As more and more villages begged and pleaded with her to continue her support of them, to protect them, she had been given something no one expected, not even her. She had been handed the control and rule of her own Kingdom. Of all the Monarchs that ruled over their subjects in this realm it was only she who had been chosen by the people she ruled over. Not only had she been chosen once by these villages and their people but she'd been chosen by them again. The villages who had given their support to whichever Kingdom would accept them after she had left had immediately seceded from them to join her again. The show of support had left Regina speechless and heartbroken. Heartbroken because for so long she had taken for granted what she had been given because she was so consumed by her need for vengeance.

When she was defeated by Snow and James Regina had only meant to live her life enacting her revenge from afar. She had been so consumed with her hatred that she almost killed the same woman she'd promised her Teacher that she would protect. It hadn't mattered to her then. No promise could ever mean as much to her as her need for revenge. At first her hatred had been centered on Leopold but when Snow had confided in her that she was so happy that Regina hadn't left that fateful night, that she hadn't left her behind, Regina's hatred had grown to include the girl she had loved as a sibling. Snow had been everything to Lily, just like Calla had been everything to Regina.

A scowl appeared on the witch's face as she put down her fork, no longer hungry. Her appetite left her so quickly she felt queasy.

Emma was studying the witch closely, as if hoping watching her while she was content would answer her present and future questions about the woman. Seeing the sour look cross Regina's countenance Emma leaned forward.

"Your majesty?"

"Hmm…?"

"Was something not to your liking?" Emma wondered what it could be, which food it had been to make Regina stop eating all together. She'd appeared to be enjoying the food a moment before.

"I've lost my appetite." Was Regina's only explanation.

Emma nodded; it was all she could do. There seemed to be a cloud making it's away across Regina's face, a simmering of something more rising just beyond her eyes. Reaching out on instinct Emma tried to take Regina's hand. The offer of physical comfort was rejected before Emma could fully extend it.

Regina glared as she pulled her hand away from Emma. "Do not touch me." The witch seethed thoughts of Calla's blue eyes shining with mirth and her lips parted with laughter haunted her, ripped at her heart and hardened it quickly.

"What have you done now?"

The exasperation could only come from one person, "Maleficent." Emma bowed her head to the witch as she made her way to the table Steven directly behind her. However she quickly looked away from the shape-shifter and turned her attention back to Regina.

"Well, what have you done?" Maleficent asked, the smile belying the fact that she was truly teasing. Whatever Steven had said to the witch must have calmed her down significantly because she seemed almost calm. However, the moment Maleficent looked at Regina the light around her eyes disappeared instantly, much like Regina's had. "Gina…" Maleficent reached out and touched her friend's hand.

Emma felt a stab in her chest, making it impossibly hard to breathe for a moment, as she watched Maleficent rub gently at Regina's hand. Regina didn't even flinch; she simply turned her head slowly to look at Maleficent with haunted, clouded eyes.

"I…Fee it hurts." The witch faltered. Both of Regina's hands held onto the arms of her chair like her grasp was the only thing keeping her seated. Her knuckles were white and around the edges of her fingertips were dark sparks of magical energy releasing itself the only way it could.

"I know…" Maleficent whispered as she squeezed Regina's hand. The only reason she hadn't turned her ire back on Emma was what she saw in Regina's mind. It hadn't been Emma that had brought Regina back to the past, to relive her worst moments in her life, it had been Regina herself. "Do not get lost in the sea of the past darling. Not this part of your past. It is not worth it. You have overcome and lost so much but you have gained much as well."

Regina nodded once, her eyes falling closed as she bowed her head, a single tear falling from her eye as she composed herself. She wanted to argue with Maleficent, she wanted to scream and pitch a fit but now was not the time. Of all that she had gained in her life since losing Daniel and Calla she had and never would long for anything more than to be given back her family.

Maleficent knew that their friendship had been forged in steel after Leopold had killed Calla and Daniel. Not that their friendship had not been strong before the tragedy of Calla and Daniel's—the true husband of Regina's heart—murders. No, they had been friends for years, as Maleficent was the pupil of Lily's former Teacher, Elena Morin'stal of Alasea. Maleficent traveled to the White Kingdom often as a growing child and young woman with Elena and met and grew up knowing Regina was like her—special.

Their friendship was close enough to keep it while being kept apart by Leopold and his olden ways and his fear of magic. They were so close that Regina had stayed in Maleficent's fortress for the last three months of her pregnancy with Calla. Regina had been sent by Leopold to make an appearance at the wedding of a young Prince to his bride. Regina couldn't have planned it any better. She told Leopold that she was only six months pregnant not the eight that she actually was. The trip cut it a little close but on the way home Regina made sure she was at Maleficent's Fortress when she gave birth. According to Leopold the trip was only meant to last two months. In the end it lasted nearly six.

Regina had faked an illness to make the guards traveling with her stop at Maleficent's fortress and seek shelter from the worsening winter weather. Maleficent made all of the White Kingdom guards stay away from Regina while she was at the Fortress telling them they could catch the illness themselves if they did not stay away. It wasn't surprising how quickly they all stayed away and stopped complaining about not seeing their Queen. They knew she was alive because every few days they would hear her moaning and screaming from the 'night terrors' she was having due to the fever.

During the harsh winter Regina gave birth to her daughter Calla, nearly three months early according to King Leopold. Maleficent was her midwife and performed the ceremonies that would ensure that Regina's inherit magic was transferred to her daughter as well and that the Fates would look kindly down on the child. Daniel, the stable hand that Regina had fallen in love with while they were still young children, was there through the full 36 hours of agonizing child birth. He had quit his job at the Castle and started his own horse breeding farm months before in preparation for keeping Calla away from Leopold who thought the child to be his when it in fact the baby was Daniel's.

It was even easier to keep the guards away from Regina after she told them that the Queen had gone into labor and the child had died. The body could not be brought back to the White Kingdom because both mother and child still contained the Illness.

Calla's birth had gone according to Regina's plan. She would keep her daughter away from Leopold and once she was well enough she would return to the White Kingdom and begin the process of succeeding Leopold with the rightful heir of the White Kingdom, Snow White. Once Snow White was settled into her rule over her Kingdom Regina could leave the castle and move onto the horse farm she and Daniel had dreamed of running together with their daughter.

Word of Regina's illness and the loss of her child devastated the White Kingdom, Leopold, who had never known the child was not his, and Snow White who had been so looking forward to having a sister or brother. Three months after giving birth Regina returned to the White Kingdom, depressed and distraught, without Daniel and Calla. Both had stayed here in the Fortress for another month before returning to the White Kingdom and Daniel's farm.

It had all been perfect. It had worked! Everything had gone as Regina planned right down to Leopold being completely unaware of Calla and Daniel and Regina's connection to them. Until…it all fell apart.

After Regina lost Calla and David she spent many nights in the dungeons locked away from the world, from her father, from Snow, and those who cared for her. She no longer hid her hatred of Leopold well and constantly challenged him. Any servants that were loyal to Regina were banished, sent to live elsewhere and never to return.

Leopold had never expected to have to fight a war in his own castle. Had he simply been the 'honorable' man his people thought him to be he would have given Snow the throne when Regina had asked it of him. He foolishly believed Regina could do nothing, that with Lily dead she had no power any longer. Oh how wrong she proved him to be.

Regina swore vengeance and with that promise of vengeance her heart grew dark. Darker then it was ever meant to become. The Fates had not planned on the betrayal Regina faced. The three spinster sisters had plans for Calla, great plans that had been ruined by the happenstance of Chance, a Chance that not even the Fates could have foreseen or forewarned. Their plans then had to change and change quickly to ensure the continued balance between good and evil in this world.

At first however dark Regina's heart had become it had not been lost. There had still been hope for the former good witch. That small glimmer of hope had been lost the moment Regina learned the identity of the person who had betrayed her. Snow White, the one good thing left for Regina to fight for, for her to strive for to keep her on the side of good, was her undoing. The teenager who she had sworn to protect and defend against all else had betrayed her. Snow White the girl Regina had spent her life protecting on behalf of Lily was the cause of all her pain and anguish. It was as the news settled around her chest and seeped into her very skin that Regina's former path, her destiny, was lost forever. Her heart grew as cold and black as her magic and vengeance would be hers.

Leopold might have been the hand that threw the torch, and the voice ordering those men to hold her back, ordering the soldiers to tie up Daniel and Calla, but in the end it had been Snow's warning to Leopold that let the man toss that torch. He had set the wood ablaze because Snow had been afraid Regina was going to leave and never come back for her. Regina had promised she would return in a fortnight. She had kneeled in front of Snow and promised the thirteen year old that she would protect her, that she would come back for her. Snow hadn't believed her and the night before Regina was meant to meet Daniel and Calla at the farm house guards had come to her room and put her under house arrest.

Her father had been thrown into her rooms beaten and bloodied from his time spent with the 'honorable' High Guards of the White Kingdom. He swore he hadn't said anything of Calla or Daniel or their plans but that they had somehow known about them. Regina thought she was the cause of her father's pain. Perhaps she had been overheard? Had one of the maids overheard her and given her up to Leopold and the High Guard? Did they know she was planning to overthrow the White King and give the Kingdom over to Snow White? They must have overheard her. It had never crossed her mind to think Snow White—the girl she had been doing this all for had been the one to betray her to Leopold. It took Regina an hour to escape from the castle, but it was an hour too late, she was too late to save her lover or her daughter. She arrived just in time however to watch them die. Regina watched all her hard work and all her planning fall through and burn to ash and cinder before her very eyes.

Regina had never known so much pain before, never, not until that moment when she broke her greatest promise to the woman who had first brought magic and Light into her world by swearing to destroy the very being that gave Lily such joy.

Regina promised she would cause Leopold as much pain as she could before she killed him and she added to that promise that she would ensure that Snow White never found her happiness. Not when she knew Snow had helped take away her greatest happiness, her only happily ever after.

Oh yes, she caused Leopold pain a great deal of devastating pain in his remaining years alive. She'd cursed him with one disease after the other. She'd been beaten for each disease he suffered through or locked away from prying eyes while those who inquired where she might be were told she was on a vacation or sent to delegate with other royals. No one against her except Leopold had known of her magic then. Everyone else that knew had been aliened on her side, her father, Maleficent and Merrywheather.

Maleficent had helped her plague the soldiers that had been there that night and allowed their King to murder an innocent horse breeder and his two year old child. Daniel knew each and every single one of those men. Daniel had worked at the White Castle for years before he bought his own farm to raise horses. They had watched, and done nothing to help him. They had left him to die, to burn. Snow had been everything to Lily, just like Calla had been everything to Regina.

Maleficent learned from the Oracle that Regina's reign over the White Kingdom and then the Dark Kingdom was sealed into place at the hands of the Fates themselves after that horrific night.

Regina promised she would not rest until she had everything Leopold loved and what Leopold loved most was his power and his Kingdom. It was why it was the first thing she took from him, slowly. She politically undermined him at every turn and made him too ill to rule over his Kingdom leaving her to do it in his stead.

Maleficent knew, even now, that Regina would give everything she had and everything she would ever gain in life to have Calla and Daniel back with her.

Opening her eyes slowly Regina calmed herself and forced the thoughts of the past to leave her be. She hadn't the time to dwell on the past. She needed to focus on the present and the future. If she wished to stay here in this realm and not be forced to escape again she had to find a way to make peace with what had been done to her and her family.

Steven and Emma watched the silent communication between the two witches closely. Emma was afraid to move a muscle lest she break the spell binding Maleficent and Regina together. It was surely a sight to behold. Regina's magic was slowly seeping out of her body but instead of harming Maleficent as she held Regina's hand the magic seemed to leaching into Maleficent's body. At first Emma thought there was no effect but as she looked between the two witches Emma realized Maleficent's skin was slowly turning a soft shade of purple, starting from the hand that held Regina's up the length of that arm and across her neck on that side of her body. The longer Maleficent held onto Regina's hand and the magic left one witch while entering the other the more she transformed.

Emma shot a concerned look at Steven who seemed as glued to his seat as she was. What was it they could do? Neither one of them had any magic. All they could do was hope that Regina would regain a semblance of control over herself and with that control Maleficent could peel her hand away from Regina and return to her natural human color—not the scaly purple color of her dragon form.

Regina slipped her hand away from Maleficent slowly. She too noticed how Maleficent's skin had begun to darken and harden with the additional magic coursing through her veins. "My apologies…"

"What brought that on?" Emma couldn't keep silent now, not now. Not after watching the transference of magic between the two witches and how it helped keep Regina calm enough to regain her composure.

"Nothing that needs to be spoken about right now." Maleficent was quick to head Emma off at the pass. Was the girl suicidal? Did she not realize how dangerous it was to play with fire?

"I think it should be spoken about now. Whatever just transpired between the two of you came out of nowhere. I need to know if that is going to happen more often before I decide to stick my head out into the open or not."

"Emma…" Steven hissed, trying to warn his friend.

"No, no, Steven. I've made my promises. I've given my word and I need to have at least a small amount of reassurance that if I keep up my end of the bargain I am not going to be roasted beyond recognition because of one of their temper tantrums."

"Temper tantrums?" Regina and Maleficent hissed together, though Maleficent's was a true hiss as her forked tongue was back. However it was Regina's dark black eyes glaring at Emma that caught the Princess' attention.

"What would you call it? I thought you would prefer temper tantrum seeing as it was far more polite than calling your episode an instant insanity attack."

Steven hid his face behind both of his hands as he shook his head back and forth, unbelieving of what was happening in front of him. Was Emma truly as witless as Maleficent insinuated she was? Did she really not know that she was poking a sleeping dragon that was always cranky when woken up by the pointy end of a stick being jabbed into its side?

Regina's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet red as she slammed her hands down, shaking the entire table with the force of her anger. "How dare you!"

"How dare I what, Regina? What is it that I have done besides sit here and watch you lose yourself to something none of us can see, save Maleficent! And ask you to explain it to me?" Granted she might have gone a bit overboard with the way she had insulted Regina but it was getting a rise out of the witch and that always seemed to bring about a dash of honesty.

Regina came up short, literally thrown for a sudden loop as Emma stood from her seat and held her gaze. Her heart raced painfully against her chest as she stared at the blonde Princess whose eyes spoke what her mouth would not. There was gentle curiosity shinning in the Princess' eyes, Regina recognized it solely because it was the exact replica of Snow White's eyes when she was genuinely curious about something that she felt she could help with.

Sitting down heavily in her chair Regina looked over Emma's shoulder as she sat down. "We have yet to hear what your plan is Princess."

Emma sighed, knowing she had lost this round, especially now that her title was being used once again. "No, you haven't your majesty. However, now that you and Maleficent are both present perhaps you would like to hear what it is we have to say?"

Regina spared Emma a quick glance as she nodded, "Proceed."

Steven looked across the short rectangular table at the opposite head where Maleficent was seated looking just as curious and slightly confused as he was. Moments ago he was sure he would need to pull Emma away from getting into a fist fight with the Dark Queen. Now here the two ladies sat no longer jumping at each other's throats like predators, but sitting down while calmly discussing their plan of action. 'God…' Steven thought as he rubbed at his forehead trying to ease away the headache there, 'they're worse than children.'

Maleficent was thinking along the same lines, however she thought that Emma couldn't be more childish if she were an actual child.

"Both of our parents think that Steven and I are in love." Emma flinched only slightly at the low rumbling growl that left Maleficent's throat. She didn't even dare look to her left to see Maleficent's expression. She could imagine it all on her own. "You know as well as we do that this is not true. However it was the easiest way for me to be allowed to travel to the Primrose Castle. I know from being here and in your main gathering hall that you have eyes at the Primrose Castle as well as the Enchanted Castle."

"How could you know that?" Maleficent looked accusingly at Steven.

"He only confirmed what I already knew. The paintings above your mantel are easily distinguishable as enchanted. I simply did not know how well they could work until Steven explained to me that it was how the both of you had been keeping your relationship," Because she would not dare say affair to either of them, "secret."

Maleficent nodded once, her arms crossing over her chest, still seemingly unhappy with Emma's deduction, or was it Steven's big mouth? Emma wasn't sure which it was.

"So you wish to be able to sneak around the castle easier, to…what?" Regina asked slightly impressed with Emma's attention to detail.

"Well, I thought that would be obvious. I want the job as your personal sparring trainer. Both Steven and I are highly qualified, taught by the best that there is to offer here in this world in several different forms of hand to hand combat including styles from the land of Chin and Wakoku."

"Karate, Kung fu, or Taekwondo?" Regina never could remember which was from what Asian country.

Emma and Steven both seemed a bit surprised that Regina would know of the styles of martial arts from two of the lands farthest from their own Kingdoms. "You know of these styles?"

"Yes, I have heard of them but am not a practioner or familiar with the differences between the styles." Her father had wanted her to learn and take lessons while they were in the other realm. Regina was thrilled to see how both Steven and Emma both simultaneously formed higher opinions of her.

Maleficent cleared her throat breaking up the staring contest going on between the three others seated at the table. "So you wish to be Regina's martial arts trainer?"

"Yes, the both of us will teach her how to defend herself the best we can. What Steven lacks I make up for and vise versa. We won't require any payments for our teachings. However we do expect a form of compensation."

Maleficent rolled her eyes, knowing it had been too good to be true that Emma wouldn't want something in return for helping them. "Oh, and what is that?"

"We expect that the both of you will keep our secrets. We do not want anyone to know that we are coming here. Not because we are ashamed," Or because Steven was ashamed, "but because it will be easier this way. If people think that Steven and I are simply having an affair and roaming about the Kingdoms as we see fit rather than being here, there will be less hostility aimed at the both of you. With both of you not instigating any fights Steven and I can keep our parents from doing the same, giving the four of us time to work on peace treaties between all of the Kingdoms, including Alexandra's and Red's Wood."

That…wasn't what Maleficent expected at all. "You merely wish for us to keep it a secret that you both are the driving forces behind a peace treaty between the Kingdoms? Which could possibly propel our realm into a time of prosperity?" There had to be something she was missing. "Why?" It was so unlike any other Prince or Princess to not want credit for their 'heroic' deeds. How could Steven and Emma not wish to take credit for bringing peace between the Kingdoms, all of them essentially, thus making them the strongest and brightest of all the former Princes and Princesses?

Emma and Steven each looked at each other for a moment before they turned back to Maleficent. "If there is peace between all the Kingdoms, including both of ours and yours, then there will be less complaint when I wish to marry you." Steven grinned at this part of the explanation. He couldn't contain how truly happy he would be if he could marry Maleficent without causing a war. It had been this very real possibility that had sold Steven on Emma's crazy idea to begin with. "With the peace treaty between your lands and my parent's kingdoms they cannot object to a marriage between the both of us. It would further reaffirm the treaty and alleviate any doubt in my mother's mind that you truly have changed." He did not mention his father because he knew deep down that Phillip would cause far more trouble than he was worth after learning of his desire to marry Maleficent.

Maleficent sat back in her chair, speechless. Her heart had stopped moments before and with a gasp she realized she hadn't been breathing either. Grabbing tightly at the dress above her chest she stared into Steven's beautiful eye's and saw how much he wished for this to be, how he wished to marry her and call her his wife. She had never considered marriage to be in their future. She had expected to live the rest of her life watching from afar as he married some foreign Princess and had children of his own and raised them all without ever thinking of her again. She thought she deserved nothing less.

"I take it this was your idea?" Regina asked, looking to Emma, who was smiling widely at the shocked expression upon Maleficent's face and Steven's joyous grin.

Emma winked, but did not voice what they all now knew. "Nothing should keep someone from the person they love. With Steven and I helping you with this peace treaty we will easily be able to find out information on both ends. Whatever it is that our parents do not like about the treaty we can easily help you re-write so it fits everyone's needs. Hopefully with this insider information the peace treaties will be signed and celebrated before I even have to return to the White Kingdom."

"And when you return to the White Kingdom, what becomes of your…relationship…with Steven?"

"It is ended. We break apart amicably and remain close friends. It will be a devastating blow to King Phillip to realize he will now be unable to combine his lands with my parents'…"

"You mean your future lands…" Regina corrected gently.

Emma forced a nod, "Yes, I suppose they are my future lands."

"You are right of course, Phillip will be devastated that his son is not going to marry you. That may throw a bit of a halt to your plans of Steven announcing his marriage to Maleficent." Regina knew all too well what a power hungry King was capable of.

"My father will have no say in the matter at that point." Steven spoke up noticing Maleficent's blush at the mention of marriage. He wondered for a moment if his lover did not wish to marry him. Any doubt he had was washed away by the twinkle in her purple eyes as she stared at him. "Desmond will be taking the throne. My father has already begun a ripple effect he will not be able to escape. If the Primrose Kingdom wishes to avoid war Desmond will need to take the throne from my father if my mother decides to stay married to him."

Regina gasped, "Aurora is thinking of divorcing Phillip?"

"Divorcing?" The three others asked.

Regina sighed, rolling her eyes. Of course, there was no such thing as divorce here in this realm. "Yes, it is when a marriage couple dissolves their marriage vows so that they may marry another person due to irreparable differences or infidelity."

"I've never heard of such a thing." Steven spoke for all of those present.

"No I suppose you would not. It was a very common practice in the world I was…living in for the last few years, however here in this world there is no such thing. A King will take on mistresses and a Queen will be left alone in bed for the rest of her life. In some cultures here men simply just marry more than one woman."

Emma shivered, "Harems…"

Regina nodded, "Yes, harems."

"Who grants these divorces?" Maleficent wondered, especially since the highest power for those in this world was the King or Queen. How did a King or Queen dissolve their own marriage then if they were the highest power before the Gods and Goddesses and the Fates themselves?

"The State."

"The state of what?"

Regina laughed softly as she shook her head. "Whichever state the couple married in, much like a city or Kingdom."

"Ah…" Regina knew that even as the three nodded their heads as if they understood, they truly did not understand a word of what she was saying.

"I think we should discuss the fact that there is another world where such things exist another time." Steven added quickly before anyone else could just pretend like they had not just been told that there was another world were the rules of living were completely different than they were here in the world—the only world—Steven had thought existed at all.

"Yes, let's not bombard the three of you with tales of fantasy and the impossible so early in the morning." When none of them could have a drink without seeming improper. "Your plan, Princess, is to teach me how to defend myself while ensuring that there will be no need for me to do so?" Regina asked turning her gaze on Emma.

"Precisely."

"You and Steven will be staying at the Primrose Castle which gives Maleficent and I an open eye into when and where to meet you to have these lessons."

"Yes," Steven nodded as he confirmed this. "We will easily be able to slip in and out of the castle together without many questions being asked. Everyone will simply believe that we wish to be alone for most of the day. We can then return to the castle during the evening and return here or to your Castle during the following afternoon. We can work on a more specific schedule and sings, much like Maleficent and I had while…" Sneaking around.

"So you will light the candle by your bed to alert me to when you wish for me to sneak into the castle?" Maleficent teased, grinning at her lover.

Steven had the decency to look a bit embarrassed even if he did not blush. Emma chuckled while agreeing, "Yes, something to that affect."

"And when will we be working on this peace treaty if you two are so busy teaching our dear Regina here how to defend herself?"

"The lessons will not take up most of the day for very long. It is important that both be simultaneously handled." Just in case their plan fell through and Regina truly would need to know how to protect and defend herself. "We have a strict time table."

"Why is that?" Regina inquired, noting how Emma seemed a bit nervous that this plan would not work in the way she wished.

"Emma must return to the White Kingdom in two months. It was all the longest time we could get from our parents. They wished to know whether or not they would be planning a wedding for this summer between the two of us. They thought two months would surely be enough time for us to confirm whether or not we were meant to be since both of our parents met and instantly fell in love." Steven rolled his eyes; it had taken him weeks to realize his feelings for Maleficent and then a year of them sneaking around in secret before he realized just how truly he did love the older witch.

"Ah, love at first sight, how very old fashioned." Regina's tone suggested she too was very pessimistic about such things. She too had fallen in love once before but not at first sight and had to work hard to keep her relationship with Daniel a secret just like Maleficent and Steven have had to do now.

"Perhaps, it is old fashioned but rather romantic as well." Emma on the other hand seemed rather fond of the idea of falling in love at first sight. She had been since she learned of her parent's story.

Regina grinned, "So it is revealed that the ruthless bounty huntress is also a romantic. How very distinct of you Princess."

Emma rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing a slight pink. "I may be a romantic but I am also a realist. I understand that this plan seems simple but on the outside that's all it is meant to be, to appear to be. Steven and I are to appear as if we are courting each other. You both are to appear as if you truly wish for this peace treaty to come through."

"What is to say that we do not wish for the treaties to go through?" Regina questioned, feeling slighted in the fact that Emma believed herself and Maleficent to be heartless or war hungry.

"I meant no offense."

"Of course you did not mean to offend us. How could you possibly know that I alone have already attempted to sign a peace treaty with each Kingdom twice before."

"I merely meant to say that you must appear invested in the treaties or each and every monarch you send one to will be suspicious. Suspicion will be the least of our trouble if your motives are called into question beyond the normal, what do they have planned meeting that will surely be held after your requests for peace have been sent." Emma attempted to smooth over her slip of tongue. However, Regina seemed fascinated with what Maleficent had admitted to. Something neither she nor Steven were surprised over. They knew that Maleficent had attempted to make peace with the Primrose Kingdom and the White Kingdom while they were still children. Their parents had been too suspicious and refused her offer, sure that as soon as they agreed Maleficent would attack from the inside and destroy them. It was why they had to be careful to avoid suspicions this time around. Now with both Steven and Emma on the inside working to convince the Monarchs to accept the offers there was no way this plan could fail.

Regina turned to Maleficent, surprised that Maleficent had tried once before to bring peace between the Kingdoms. She knew that Maleficent would not have mentioned it if she had not indeed tried to form this very kind of alliance once before. "When?"

"Eighteen years ago I attempted to form an alliance of sorts with Aurora and Phillip." Maleficent bowed her head, "I had very little to live for then, you had left this realm and I was feeling lonely. I did not wish to be despised any longer." Maleficent explained, not to give Emma or Steven the answers but to bestow them on Regina, who Maleficent felt was due the explanation. "It was for nothing. They rejected my offer. It was only after Aurora became ill while pregnant with Penelope that she sought me out. Merrywheather told her that I was one of the few witches alive who had a known cure for the ailment she was facing." Maleficent saw Steven's eyes widen. He had been a boy of fifteen then and had done everything in his power to make his father proud—including pulling as many pranks on her as possible while she visited the castle.

"Ailment?" Regina asked, curious about what disease would have scared the Primrose Queen enough to come seek Maleficent's assistance.

Emma and Steven both remembered most of this story. Emma had been ten years old and awaiting the birth of her own baby brother while Steven was waiting for his baby sister. There had been a devastating illness that swept through the Kingdoms. Many lost their lives before Maleficent had offered the remedy to any and all facing the illness, including but certainly not limited to, Queen Aurora.

"It was sweeping through the lands and when she came to my Fortress, weak and despondent I could not turn her away. She begged me for the antidote that I had created and used to save the lives of the people in my lands and yours…" Maleficent nodded to Regina. "…I had been doing my best to maintain some order in your Kingdom hoping that you would return sooner rather than later." Had she known it would be another nine years before Regina returned she would have…no, she would have done everything that she had done all over again. "I gave the antidote to her and formed an agreement with the Enchanted Kingdom and the White Kingdom for a cease fire if you will for my help in manufacturing and distributing the antidote to those who needed it. It is not a peace treaty, not in the ways that I wished, but it has maintained a steady alliance between our kingdoms and trade has flourished. I also was given the opportunity to meet the young Princess whom I had saved. Aurora even made me her godmother. Poor Fauna was devastated as she was meant to be Penelope's godmother due to Steven and Desmond being Merrywheather and Flora's godsons."

Regina blinked, unbelieving. Of all the stories that Maleficent had shared with her in the last week this had not been among them. Seeing the blush on Maleficent's cheeks at the admission Regina could only believe that she was a bit embarrassed to admit to being the Primrose Princess' godmother. Regina thought it was adorable. No wonder Maleficent spoke so fondly of Princess Penelope. The girl obviously held Maleficent's affections. No matter how Maleficent protested against liking any 'disgusting' children Regina now had ample ammunition against her dearest friend.

It was the thought of Fauna's devastated countenance as Aurora proclaimed Maleficent Princess Penelope's godmother that had the dark haired witch bent over in laughter.

Maleficent sniffed, not amused. She crossed her arms and turned her head away from her laughing friend, even as a grin tugged at her lips. She knew what Regina found so funny about this and it wasn't the fact that Aurora had dedicated her child to her former sworn enemy.

Emma and Steven both wondered what had overcome Regina for the witch to laugh so fully, her shoulders shaking with the force of the sound. The gleeful laughter was joined quickly by Maleficent's giggles…actual giggles. Emma thought she was going to pass out. Not only was the Evil Queen—turned Dark Queen laughing as if her very life depended on it but the shape-shifting witch who'd tried to kill her the day before was giggling like a child sharing a secret about her brother's first crush.

The sound was strange and yet in its strangeness there was a certain beauty to it. The way the witches' eyes light up with their shared amusement, and the way the stress lines around their eyes and foreheads disappeared left them practically glowing. Emma almost felt like she was intruding on some private intimate moment between the friends as they grasped each other's hand and laughed boisterously. Steven smiled, unable to contend with the silliness that was surrounding him. He too began to laugh, however he was laughing at the idea of his mother granting Maleficent guardianship of Penelope.

Emma sat back, silent, as the room filled with the other's laughter. Her eyes locked on the woman sitting directly across from her, amazed and enthralled by the sound and sight of Regina's beauty in this very moment. Without meaning to a smile broke across her face and she too began to laugh, the infectious sound finally breaking down all her defenses.

For now they could all imagine that this plan would work, that they would not fail in their separate yet equally important missions. For now they could all pretend that the world they lived in wasn't always black and white but technicolored and three dimensional. They could pretend that for once in their lives they were in charge of their destinies, their fates and that for once good could come from evil. For now.

END CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Pretty please with sugar on top, drop me a line. Let me know what you liked and what you didn't about this chapter. Would very much like to know what you all think about Regina's past.