Hooves pounded against the dirt path underneath them, kicking up dust and covering the large, black carriage that trailed behind, creaking as its wheels worked to pull it along. The ride was not sturdy, for every bump caused the carriage to rock, but it was certainly smoother than taking a horse and less disorienting than magicking to the location.
The Black Knight, seated in that very carriage, kept her green eyes fixated on the moving world outside through the door's window, watching as they journeyed closer to the forthcoming era.
"Have you ever dreamt of the forest, my knight?"
The question spoken from the tongue of a familiar face drew Emma's attention away from the passing forest. "Pardon?" Her brows sunk as she landed herself back into reality, eyes falling to the Queen who sat across from her with hands placed neatly on her lap.
"While you were locked away in your castle. You have told me that you were disallowed from leaving the boundaries of it." She tilted her head and Emma thought her neck would snap from the weight of her hair piled atop it.
Emma garnered her attention to the expanse of green and the village in the distance as they broke out of the forest. It was odd that they hadn't passed through the city, but then again, the Evil Queen never quite liked visiting the settlements under her liege. "I used to sit by my window as a girl and look out into the forest. I remember catching the scent on the horses – the earth, the pine, the fresh air…"
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting the world slip away into darkness and memories, and smiled now that she had been able to visit the forest herself. The scents of it was always something she enjoyed; it smelled of freedom, of adventure, of some life that she only dreamt that she could have.
"I used to dream what it would be like. Snow had told me tales of her adventures, though she attempted to make them sound terrible, but I knew… They always intrigued me." That smile on her pale pink lips widened, stretching her face and when she opened her eyes, she saw the smile in the Queen's eyes, though her face remained quiet of emotion. "Have you? I've always noticed that you tend to seek the window when things trouble you."
Regina's scarlet lips pressed together, her eyes – golden in the sun – shimmered slightly as she dipped her head. "I look upon it and wish I could fly above the treetops, away from everything. Be careless." She shook her head. "But, such is life, my knight. We simply cannot escape our duties. They are sewn into us and keep us grounded."
"I know. Unfortunate that we weren't born swans." She offered a wavering smile and looked to the village of Dawnwood as they had passed through. The people kept their distance from the carriage that they recognized as the Queen's and a few of their mouths had opened, but Emma couldn't make out their singular words as they mingled, though the tone rang hatred in the air.
After they passed from the village, Regina spoke, her voice spiteful. "And, here I am, hated for breathing."
"Have you ever truly listened to your people?" Emma nearly wanted to shove those words back into her mouth, but she held to her estranged confidence. "And their needs?"
"I have people who take care of that for me. What need have I?"
"It is your duty as Queen, Regina," she said, brow furrowing slightly. "From what I have seen, the people are poor and starving for lack of work and food. And now that most of the able-bodied men and women have been enlisted in your army, things are taking a sharp turn into the dirt. Is this truly what you want, Regina, for your kingdom to perish because of, what?"
"They do not care for me, so why should I care for them?" she hissed, fingers digging into the fabric of her cloak.
"They hate you because you give them nothing. You are their ruler, Regina. And… smite me where I stand for telling you this, but you must give your attention to them, or at least your advisers who control those aspects of the kingdom. If it turns prosperous, your people will be contented and less likely to kill you." She felt a tightness in her chest as her gloved fingers curled into themselves in an attempt to keep her cool.
The Evil Queen merely stared at her, dumbfounded, if anything, that she had been reprimanded by someone lower than her, but then there was that little smirk playing gently on her lips as if she enjoyed the sudden outburst. She dipped her head slightly. "Very well, Ser Swan. I advise you to remember this and bring it up at our next meeting. Perhaps we can wring it out of those vermin what they have been doing with the funds that I provide."
Satisfied, the blonde knight nodded slightly and attempted to keep the growing smirk from her face. Slowly, she felt as if she were making progress with the Queen, and something inside of her bloomed at the very thought. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten an answer from the last morning's intense conversation, but she didn't mind, for now. The world around them was slowly churning and there was more pressing matters that needed tending.
"Do you think the Dark One knows about his son?" the knight queried, thinking of those very matters, and frowned.
"I have no doubt. That imp has a mysterious way of knowing things."
Emma swallowed thickly. "Will he come for me if he finds out I am the one who had killed him?"
"I will not allow that to happen." The Queen's eyes flashed with an emotion that took Emma's heart and squeezed it with a cold hand.
What does she fear?
"He had done it before…" She could feel herself shake at the thought of being in that dark and impending room with shadows that loomed over her like death. That fear was squashed by a hand on her knee and when she gazed up, she found Regina's eyes staring back at her, filling her with hope that, perhaps, she would have protection from the Dark One. "No spell will keep him out. He can break anything."
"If we must go into hiding, my knight, then we shall." There was a slow doubt filtering into Emma's system because she could see the incertitude in her queen's eyes. The Dark One was too powerful, were the unspoken words, and even if it were to take years, he would still find them.
"Only if we travel to a different realm, my Queen. It would certainly grant us time, freedom. I had heard that is what happened with his son."
The Queen shook her head slowly, eyes falling to her black painted nails. "Acquiring such an item to jump realms is difficult. I know of only two that have the ability, or moreover, access. And one wants our heads while the other is, well… He did not remain in these parts long."
Emma pressed her hands into her lap and sought out the forest that engulfed them once again. "Why must the consequences of our actions be so harsh. Wherever we may turn, we fall upon a wall. I wish-"
"Wishing is for children, Emma. No one will grant you a single thing. That is why we must take it for ourselves, make it happen ourselves-"
"But I wish everyone would leave us alone. What must we do?"
"Kill them?" answered the Queen as if it were just that simple, but the blonde crinkled her nose.
"Something that does not resort to violence or death. Something that…" The younger woman released a breath, her jaw clenching. "An escape."
"Working your mind on the thought of traveling to a different realm, are we?" Regina clucked her tongue and smirked, as if the very thought were inane. "I implore you to tell me where we will acquire a magical bean or a magical hat just to do such a thing? And what do you think will happen when we reach this unknown destination?"
"We can make our mark. Create a life for ourselves. Be-"
"And what makes you think that I want to go with you and make some… life?" hissed the Queen, freezing Emma in her spot. "Leave everything that I know? Everything that I have created for myself?"
Her breath grew heavy, but she attempted to make them shallow and breathed through her stomach, swallowing away the tightness she had left. "But you will be relieved of your title. No one will know you as the Evil Queen."
But Regina scoffed. "And so the tides can wash over me again? To start from nothing? How many people will use us then?"
"No one," Emma answered quietly. "Do you fear not having a purpose if you leave, Regina? Your revenge will be taken if we leave. There would be no chance of my parents ever finding us. You will win." The prospect of this seemed to perk the Queen slightly, but her eyes still remained ablaze. "But that title, is that all you truly desire? Still, my Queen, you have yet to answer."
Her nostrils flared slightly and Emma expected smoke to puff out, but Regina seemed to collapse into herself, lowering the guard she placed, and sought the forest through the little window where golden rays shone. She was quiet, allowing nature to take over and the beating of the horses' hooves as they continued on their path to the Dark One's forest.
"You do not have to answer me. I will not force you to. I-I… I only want to know what your deepest desire is. What do you hold in that scarlet pocket of your heart?" She let hope glimmer within her when Regina seemed to sag slightly, losing her stiff composure and turn chestnut eyes on her, soft, vulnerable.
"I just want to be Regina." Her voice was quiet, as if she didn't want the blonde to hear, but Emma smiled. "I have always been Cora's daughter, or King Leopold's wife, or the Evil Queen, but I have never been Regina."
"You are Regina to me and that is who I want to know." The Black Knight reached forward and took the hand still planted in the Queen's lap, feeling the warmth and the bones and saw Regina's scarlet lips twitch, breaking into a small, small smile. Butterflies filled Emma's stomach when she saw it and murmured softly, "And if we leave, whether to another realm or far away in this one, that is who you can be and that is who you will be."
The brunette queen released a sigh and drew her hand away from Emma's, casting her gaze back out to the shadows that moved in the forest. "If we could ever be fortunate enough, my knight."
"I promise you, Regina, that when all of this is over, we will run away. We will run from it all." Her emerald eyes met with chestnut ones and the moment they shared was intense because she would try everything in her power to make that happen, to make her queen happy – something that she deserved after the hoops that she had dove through.
"Words are just that, Emma, and many have promised me things and none of them have shown their worth." She smiled, regardless, as if she had appreciated the words. The blonde decided against arguing, knowing the Queen would only cut her down, and dipped her head.
"Will the magical powder work in finding the Dark One's dagger?" the Black Knight asked, eyes falling to a pouch that Regina had tied to her waist. It was something that the Evil Queen had produced in aid of the search. The Dark One's forest was large and the possibility of locating the box before Rumpelstiltskin had found them was slim.
"There is a possibility it may not," answered the Queen whose fingers found the little leather pouch, making sure it was still there. "The powder is generally used to locate any magical item and the Dark One tends to collect many."
"I have seen part of his collection. What need has he of them?" The blonde was brought back to the hall filled with strange items, most of which were vases or weapons.
"He collects them to make deals with those unfortunate souls who desire them."
"I suppose I should have expected as much." She shuddered to think of those innocent people, those naive people, who wanted something the Dark One had. Briefly she wondered if he had even stolen these items from people just to make a deal with them. The imp was unjust and monstrous and it only gave reason to remove him from this realm. "But what if it does not work?"
"Then we will have to dig." Regina drew her eyes to the blonde. "I have not used this magic in a long time and there is a chance the boy had lied."
The path the magical powder had left as Regina had scattered the dust from her palm was purple and reminded her of the Queen's magic. It led straight to the Dark One's castle as expected, though a second path diverted further into the forest, leading them deep into the dense trees. The Black Knight followed her Queen, toting a shovel, as they traced the fading magic trail to an area not unlike any other. It ended between two large oak trees, reminding Emma of the entrance to the Dark One's territory and made her wonder if this was where the border had ended.
Though, the thought did not remain long as she took to work, digging into the hard soil as Regina took watch. The forest was quiet save for the dwellers who moved and ran when they caught sight of the two. When the hole was as deep as Emma's thigh, she rested against dirt that surrounded her, and looked up to the Queen with sweat on her brow.
"I hope he buried it here," she muttered, stabbing the soft earth with her shovel.
"You are strong, my knight," purred Regina whose smile shone above her as she paced back toward the hole, her cloak swishing behind her. "This location seems promising. The imp no doubt wanted a landmark."
"I hope you're right." Emma huffed and wiped the perspiration from her forehead.
"Now, I suggest that you hurry. We don't know who might be lurking about."
The blonde felt herself melt against the dirt before she nodded and resigned to pulling the shovel out of the earth and continue with her digging. The magic that had led them to this point had disappeared now and part of her slowly doubted she was even in the correct place for the gape in the earth only seemed to grow without turning up a single item.
The Queen only watched, or paced, as she kept her eyes to the forest. Couldn't she use magic to aid her? Emma's thoughts were bitter as she continued to dig until the metal of her shovel hit something within the turned soil. "Don't be a rock…" she whispered to herself as she bent in her confined hole and used her gloved fingers to uncover a small wooden box. "I found something!" She almost cried and showed the Queen.
"This looks about the size." Regina took the box and brushed off the remaining dirt, her dark eyes eating up the wood held in her hand. The curl on her lips grew and it made Emma shudder. "Yes, good, good. Fill in the hole before we leave."
"What?" The younger woman could have wept with what was demanded of her, but she merely shook her head and pulled herself out of the wound she dug into the earth. It was up to her shoulder by the time she had found that cursed box and the sun, once high in the sky, was slowly sinking, streaking red in the sky.
"Fine, I will help you. I do not trust lingering." The Queen used her boot to kick dirt back into the hole and the blonde used her shovel, going as quickly as she could. Remaining in this forest as the shadows started to take over only set her on edge. It felt dark and overwhelming, and she wondered how many bodies were buried out here.
A snap of a twig brought Emma's attention up from her work, forcing her stomach to flip inside her as her eyes searched the area. She didn't dare call out, instead, she alerted her Queen who still kicked dirt into the hole, though her head was snapped up. "You heard that, yes?"
"Yes. We must hurry," she said, eyes slightly wide as she increased her movements, though as Emma was going back to work, she felt a foreign presence consume her and didn't dare turn around.
"I think it's time that we go…" Emma whispered, nearing the older woman. Without another word, the two abandoned their post and broke into a sprint, Emma dropping her shovel as she retraced her steps back to the carriage. The sound followed them, thundering though the trees, snapping twigs and rustling leaves, and the blonde could feel her heart in her throat as she carried herself as quickly as she could, not even daring to breathe in that moment, or even look back.
It wasn't until she saw the dip of earth where they had been shoveling did she notice that they had only looped the forest. "Fuck!" she screeched, nearly tripping over a mound of dirt and stopped, allowing her aching lungs a rest, bringing oxygen into them. The world seemed to close in around her.
"No, no, no…" Regina was beside her, cloak lost and box still held tightly in her hand.
"Do you think he's playing tricks on us?" Emma wheezed, eyes moving behind them to find nothing but the trees they had run through. It was then that she had noticed a buck in the distance and made eye contact with it, but it had shot off before she could squeeze out her laughter.
"What is so amusing?" She was shot a glare from the Evil Queen, but the knight could only shake her head.
"I think a buck was chasing us. I must apologize, I thought it was something else."
"You made me run because of an animal?" If the older woman hadn't been short of breath, her voice would have been far more threatening. Emma shrunk away from her and kicked the pile of dirt she had nearly tripped over.
"Look, we still need to get the hell out of here." She started off toward the direction they had come, hoping the carriage would be awaiting them. "I just… don't very much like it here. It feels too… consuming."
"I knew I should have marked where we were going," the Queen muttered as she followed behind her. "We must push until we come into view of Rumpel's castle. From there, we can find our way back."
And thus they had, walking into the thick of the forest until it started to thin. Emma had, at one point, found Regina's cloak thrown several lengths away from their path and collected the soiled garment. It amused her to think of the Queen shucking that very thing in her desperation to escape, but she frowned at the same thought, knowing the brunette did not want to be captured by Rumpel again. He would break her, no doubt, as he had promised.
Shuddering, she followed behind Regina, holding on tightly to the royal purple material, and caught sight of the large castle ahead, casting a shadow over them. As she was about to surge forward, knowing where the carriage was, she felt a hand tug at her, forcing her against the rough bark of a tree.
"What the-"
"Rumpel," hissed Regina, pulling the knight closer behind the tree in which they hid. It took the blonde a moment to gather her brain before she saw the figure of the Dark One moving about the forest as if he were stalking prey.
"Fuck," Emma growled underneath her breath and kept her gaze on the imp who didn't seem to notice their presence. There was a generous distance between them, at least, and they took that into consideration as their steps became lighter, their eyes never leaving the distant form. Though, the further they went, the closer that figure seemed to follow, and she seized.
"He's getting closer."
Regina's dark eyes went to Rumpel and the sparkle of his skin as he drew near. "Give it a moment and then we run."
"What about magic?" Emma asked, slowly moving toward the next tree, her gloved fingers digging into the rugged bark.
But the brunette shook her head. "He will sense it." After a moment, she took the blonde's hand and muttered, "run," before their feet pounded against the forest floor once again. This time, they had made the straightforward path to the dirt road and didn't stop until they reached the carriage parked far down it.
Emma took the chance to breathe once they climbed into the luxurious coach, dirt and sweat covering her. The knights in charge of the horses put them into motion and emerald eyes fell to her Queen whose lips were parted to accommodate the air she brought into her lungs.
"That was far too close," Emma breathed, peeling the gloves off her hands. "You still have the box?"
The Queen nodded and brought the wooden box onto her lap. Her fingers were red from holding onto it so tightly. "I see that you have acquired my cloak."
"Well, you did just throw it." Emma gathered the bunched fabric and offered it to the older woman, but she shook her head, a smirk on her lips.
"You may hold onto it for now." She laughed when the blonde brought the cloak close to her and squeezed. "Shall we open the box?"
"It better be his dagger or else I will resurrect Baelfire and kill him again," she muttered, eyes falling to the wood as Regina observed the container, her brows scrunching.
"There is no lock," she said and attempted to pry it open with her fingers, but the lid wouldn't budge. "Of course, he must have sealed it with magic. He is not stupid."
"Can you open it?" Of course, why wouldn't the solution to their problems be just out of reach? She watched as Regina moved her fingers over the smooth, brown wood and touched it with the palm of her hand, an irritated grunt falling from her lips. "What is it?"
"I cannot open it," she growled and nearly threw the container on the seat beside her. "It is bound with a powerful spell that cannot be broken with practical magic. I should have figured this would not have been simple."
"Does that mean we can't open it at all?" Emma's eyes fell to the offending box and glared at it as if that would frighten the inanimate thing into opening.
"I may have a spell, but I cannot access it until we return." The brunette sagged against her seat and released a heavy breath, her eyes closing. "At least we have it in our grasp."
"One step closer than we were yesterday," Emma agreed, eyes never leaving the Queen whose eyes remained shut. She smiled inwardly and reached forward, finding dirt attached to the brunette's cheek, and wiped it away, though she was stopped by a hand on her wrist, gripping it tight.
"What are you doing?" Those animated eyes snapped open.
"Uh, you- you had some dirt…" She couldn't move her hand from the Queen's grasp.
"I wouldn't speak," snorted Regina and released Emma, allowing the blonde to swipe the dirt away. She crinkled her nose, Regina did, but made no effort to move from the touch, even as she let her fingers linger on the olive skin.
"We both need to bathe," she whispered and pulled her hand away. "And figure out how the hell to open that box."
"We have it, for now. No doubt he will notice that it is missing, much like his son." Regina's face lost its color as she spoke, but she remained stoic. "Thus we must act quickly."
"Everything seems to be moving quickly these days." Emma traced the intricate pattern of Regina's cloak as she let her gaze move to the world outside and the lavender clouds that hung low in the darkening sky.
"We can settle tonight and rest. We will need our energy for the days to come." The Queen's words brought her breath to a halt.
Reality was making its way to her brain. Everything up to this point had been words and plans and threats, and now that they had the Dark One's dagger, everything would be set into motion and they would have to defeat that very man. It would change the world, whether they would succeed or not, because blood would be shed and lives would be lost, and she hoped that it wouldn't be theirs.
"Why must you look at me like that?" a husky voice inquired, bringing emerald eyes away from the taught, olive flesh displayed before her. The Queen was spread across her feather bed as Emma slowly crawled onto the foot of it, smirking softly.
"Like what?" she asked innocently, falling back onto her knees as the brunette sat up to greet her, scarlet lips parting.
"As if I were some priceless piece of art, or a cheap piece of meat."
The Black Knight chuckled softly, letting the hot air fall against the older woman's flushed cheek. "Because you are worth taking in. Every inch of you is a work of art – like some masterpiece that should be displayed before the world." She moved forward and pressed her lips against the Queen's, cupping her neck. "Though, I would have to blind the population."
Regina's laughter rumbled against her lips as they met again and she leaned away. "I see, well… I am certainly not a masterpiece. My body is scarred and art is pristine-"
"But the best works of art are flawed, my Queen," whispered the blonde as she cupped the nape of her lover's neck and kissed her again, this time it lasted, something hungry and powerful that touched the tips of her toes with an electricity that only fueled her.
Regina sighed against her lips, an absent smile curving her perfect mouth. "I doubt that."
"Oh, but they are," Emma mewled as their lips met again and she gently nibbled the scar on her lip. "I find them intriguing. Your body is like a story, telling of the past and the pain, and the strength it has gained from it. And that beautiful mind that has suffered the most." Her thin lips pressed against Regina's temple.
"You always find flattering words to tell me, don't you?" asked the Queen, though she didn't seem to mind as her head lulled back, enjoying the soft kisses her neck received when Emma trailed her way down the perfumed tawny skin. Her slender digits pressed into delicate ivory flesh when teeth grazed over a particular spot, eliciting a soft gasp. "Though, I must admit, I quite like them coming from you."
"Oh, do you?" The blonde pulled away and gazed into her Queen's beautiful obsidian eyes.
She nodded, eyes falling to the emerald pair that stared into her own before curling her fingers into that silken honey hair and pulling the source forward, locking their lips together. Emma could feel a rumble in her throat when the Queen deepened the passion, her sweet tongue invading her mouth. The blonde pressed herself closer to the older woman when she felt fingernails scratch along her spine, setting the blood in her veins on fire.
The Black Knight sensed the Evil Queen's body move against her own, growing more desperate as their kiss lasted until they pulled away, her soft crimson lips parting and curling into a smirk that shot a certain heat straight to her lower belly.
"Mm, but I do prefer when other words fall from those sweet lips of yours." Her voice was rough and husky, a hand falling from the blonde's arm to land on her rear, giving it a soft squeeze.
"And what might those be?" asked the former princess, biting her lower lip when she felt the hand come down upon her ass with a sharp slap. Her flesh stung, but it only brought heat to her core.
There was a certain way that she smiled and the way it crinkled the corners of her eyes that had Emma's heart fluttering, tugging at the muscles in her face. "Well," she mewled, fingers untangling from golden locks as they fell and trailed down the blonde's side, forcing an unwelcome giggle from the younger woman. "Whenever I touch you here," she continued, those fingers drawing down Emma's thighs and slipping between them to cup her most sacred part, "you always seem to utter the most beautiful of songs."
She swallowed thickly and kept her grip tight on the brunette's arms, unable to keep a clear mind as those fingers seemed to work and only heighten the ache that continued to grow. A hum grew as she allowed this, her knees falling apart leaving her to sink against the bed and slowly become towered by the Queen whose dark eyes kept on her own.
"Gods," Regina murmured and claimed her knight's lips once again in something rough and fervent as a single digit slipped into the warmth of the blonde. She felt weak with the sorceress on her and in her and lost her sense for a moment, letting herself fall into the roaring tides that was Regina as she took over and pushed her onto the bed – the absolute aphrodisiac.
The covers were cool against her back, but she didn't mind, for it quickly warmed underneath her heated skin. The Queen never seemed to hesitate when she took her and this time was no different as her nimble fingers explored, teasing the delicate folds nestled between the blonde knight's legs. Regina chuckled, something throaty and alluring as her lips broke from Emma's and trailed downward, passing by her throat with a nip and over her collarbone with another.
Her back arched in anticipation as she watched, her own pale digits combing and curling into the raven locks that tickled her arms. Red stained her skin, trailing after the older woman's lips as they made their way down and over the swell of her breast, and inhaled sharply when she felt those warm lips close around the erect peak.
"Gods, 'gina…" The sensation left her with a high when those fingers found her throbbing nerve bundle and worked at it in rough movements.
The brunette's tongue left a cold trail across her breast as it tasted and moved to the other, this time her teeth sank into the delicate tissue earning a soft cry from the blonde. The pain was only temporary for the result fled to her center and caused the very flesh to tingle as it was stretched by the Queen's penetrating fingers, a warm energy filling her and blurring her vision.
Regina merely made a noise crossed between a moan and a chuckle as her knight's hands started to explore her soft curves. "Gina, hm?" she purred against the flush peak of the blonde's breast and pressed soft kisses around the bruising teeth marks.
"I-I apologize…" Her face burned and her head buzzed, but she made out the melodic laughter of her queen as it tickled her skin.
The brunette laved her tongue over the hard peak of her breast before covering it with her mouth once again, the pace of her fingers increasing, matching each rock of her hips. "No mind, my knight."
But, Gods, she could barely register the words as they came to her ears. Her brain swam in ecstasy and she could already feel the pressure building in her loins, some scattered question being moaned into the air. "Are you- Wha- Why does it-"
"Magic," purred the Queen whose dark eyes cast upon her with a twinkle and a smirk chased it on her full lips. It wasn't the word, but the voice and the tone, and the burning of the wood, that pushed Emma over the edge and blurred her vision as everything spun around her. She felt her jaw grow slack and a vibration in her throat, but her ears were deaf to the sounds the dark sorceress reveled in, though it left them ringing when she touched ground once again, pulsing, aching.
"Good girl." She made out Regina's throaty voice and immediately felt empty when the Queen withdrew her hand to shift positions, using her palms to frame the younger woman's face as she swallowed her words with a kiss.
The Black Knight was not about to complain, though, as she returned the heated kiss and ground her hips into the older woman's when she straddled her. She moaned softly when she felt the warm stickiness of her lover's fruit against her own and supported this new position, her arms wrapping around the witch.
"I want you to touch me," demanded Regina whose eyes seemed to penetrate her very being. Gods, she could barely concentrate as her Queen ground against her, soft mewls falling from those messy scarlet lips. Everything was tender and each movement made her hips jerk sporadically.
"Of course, Your Majesty." Emma nibbled on the older woman's lower lip and kissed her again, knowing full well what she was about to do would quickly be reversed. She shifted their bodies until she fell upon the Queen, straddling her soft hips with a murmur and gazed down at the widened chestnut eyes. Quickly, she kissed her again to silence the protest and touched her cheek.
"What are you doing?" she hissed and turned her head before the blonde could quiet her again. Regina's nostrils flared and she could feel the way her heart pounded against her chest.
"Let me do this, Regina," she whispered and pressed her lips to the corner of her Queen's mouth.
"I need no help!" She could feel the palms of the older woman's hands against her shoulders as she pushed Emma away and the blonde allowed it to happen, though she didn't fall off her and merely sat on her knees between the brunette's own.
"Please," she begged, a gentle hand touching Regina's bent knee. "Let me do something different. E-Even if I do not cover you."
Emma could feel the brunette's gaze burn into her and slowly, her arousal was dissipating, and perhaps it was a good thing. The Queen would no doubt throw her out. But, instead of the backlash she had expected, Regina spoke, her words naught but a sigh. "Let us not do this tonight, Emma."
"Then I shall return to my bedchambers." The blonde dipped her head but was quickly stopped by a hand. The Queen was sitting up, traces of her lust still visible within those chestnut eyes.
"We can still fuck, my knight, but I-"
"I know it scares you, Regina, to let yourself give in, but..." Emma's hand squeezed the sorceress's tawny knee, her deep emerald eyes never breaking contact with the woman's before her. The brunette remained sitting up for the moment, her dark gaze contemplative, the light wrinkles in her face deepening. "We do not have to," Emma whispered, finding the intensity burning in those mesmerizing eyes and touched her cheek, smiling when her features softened.
"The moment I demand you to stop, you will." Her hand hovered over the knight's before she collected it and pulled it away.
The blonde nodded as the fluttering wings tickled her insides and moved forward to kiss her queen again, allowing the warmth to spread throughout her body, curling her toes and fingers. Slowly, Regina allowed herself to fall back onto the bed when their lips broke apart and Emma started to create a path down the smooth map of olive skin.
The brunette's breath hitched underneath the soft contact and released the bubbling sigh from her lips as she arched. Emma could feel the way she lay rigid, though, and frowned into her skin, searching for a remedy while she slowly lowered her body down the older woman's, lips tasting and cherishing each inch they passed over. The Queen's heart thundered underneath her, she could feel the rhythmic pound, and for a moment she remembered that very organ pulsing in her hand.
"How are you feeling?" Emma rumbled just above the brunette's breast as she broke away to fall into those dark eyes that stared upon her, mixed with clashing emotions.
Her lips parted as if she were about to speak, but a mere sigh fell from her lips instead, something light and airy, yet heavy and burdened. "I want to push you away, but I-..." Dark locks bounced slightly when she shook her head, scarlet lips parted. "I-I do not think we should continue this-"
"How if I put myself onto the bed?" Emma suggested, eyes honing in on the soft features of her queen. The older woman nodded slowly, her lower lip being pulled into her mouth by ivory teeth.
She felt as if some progress were made, even if the conflict had stuttered her mouth as it closed around the dark peak of her queen's breast and gently suckled, eliciting a sweet melody from the one below her. It was a change of pace feeling her lover's body beneath her, shifting, tensing, squirming. The blonde decided to release her queen of the weight as she shifted further, lips trailing across the dip of her belly and over her scarred hips.
"Gods," was a word spoken as another sigh and she soon felt fingers curl into her hair.
"Are you alright?" Emma lifted her gaze, her stomach now pressed against the bed.
"Yes," murmured the Queen. "Continue."
She bit back her laughter at the demand and dipped her head between those taut olive thighs to admire the treasure held between them. This was the first time she had been able to see the entirety of her Queen from this position and she was not disappointed. Jade eyes fell to the face of the very woman as gentle fingers probed at the flush, swollen flesh. Her hips moved forward greedily, already, as her head fell against the pillows, her expression shifting from its intense state to mirror her pleasure, relaxed, as it had always been.
The knight pressed soft kisses to the insides of her Queen's thighs, earning soft gasps and only hoping that they were not reflecting the brunette's earlier fears. She could feel her tense when pink lips fell to the soft folds and cherished them with mild kisses, and only continued when no protest was given, her tongue laving the damp flesh.
"Stop teasing," the Queen's roar filled the air, though stressed when that very pink muscle trailed across the sensitive bundle of nerves. Emma could feel the older woman shift and that voice sounded above her head, this time, even as she complied to the demand, wiggling her tongue between the sweet lips. "Do not let it get to your head, this trust I give you."
The Black Knight could feel the corners of her mouth lift, but she denied a response and milked the sweet music from Regina's mouth. She could feel it reverberate and knew that the Queen still loomed, supporting herself with a hand. They grew lighter and louder, those moans that fell from the dark witch's lips, and it only seemed to press Emma to complete her task, slender digits sinking into the warmth of her ruler.
She could feel her muscles ache in this peculiar position and looked to the Queen's scrunched face before pulling away completely. Those dark eyes snapped open when the source of her pleasure was taken away and those messy scarlet lips parted in protest as she watched the blonde knight grab her ankles when she sunk onto the hard, stone floor. A soft squeal filled the air when Regina was pulled to the edge of her feather bed, but any words that were meant to be spoken were replaced by hums as the blonde retained her previous position.
Emma could feel the weight of a leg as it draped over her shoulder and she only used it as ground, wrapping her free arm around the thigh as her other worked, pumping digits into the Queen and only earning an earful of Regina's special medley. Her scalp was growing sore as those fingers kept tugging at it, but it fueled her own desire, billowing the fire throughout her entire being.
"More, Emma!" demanded the older woman whose voice's pitch was heightened with desperation. The blonde returned her mouth to Regina's sacred flesh and quickly found her swollen clit, and the way the brunette's hips seemed to press and move quicker against her told a story of impending release. The younger woman stretched her already tightening warmth and rapidly flicked her tongue over the button that always seemed to tip her lover over the edge.
And this time was no different as the Evil Queen's cry boomed like a crack of thunder throughout the bedchambers, her leg pinning Emma against the wooden frame and bruising her ribs, but she soldiered through the pain and helped Regina through her shattering climax.
When the grip had loosened and allowed the knight to pull away, she saw Regina sink into the feathers, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Emma could feel a stinging warmth rise within her as she pulled herself off the cold stone, knees aching, and clambered next to her Queen whose skin was slick with perspiration.
"How was that?" The blonde's face burned from the question when the witch's eyes fell to her, now more chestnut than obsidian, but she could see the panther that was hungry for more.
"Are you seeking approval?" questioned the brunette whose smile stretched across her face and crinkled her eyes. Butterflies filled her abdomen.
"Approval? I already have that," she purred and slowly inched closer to the royal woman until their skin touched. "No, I am curious if you felt any discomfort being-"
"After I had changed positions, no." The Queen turned, half her body pressing onto Emma as she allowed her lips to trail along ivory skin. "It was… different."
"Doesn't it feel good to lose control?" The path Regina had created along her skin was lit on fire and she could feel it gather and move along her veins to rekindle the flame already burning in her belly.
"Sometimes," she answered instead of protesting the very thought of control, her words tickling Emma's skin. "Now, close your eyes, my knight, for our evening will be long."
She closed her eyes as the Queen took over and thought briefly of what she had said, knowing very well she would still push the boundaries between them until they broke. She was granted this small vulnerability tonight, but it was not what she had desired; she wanted more. Time would be the only friend to aid her in these upcoming endeavors with the Evil Queen.
"What language is this?" Emma held a worn tome in her hand, flipping through the pages of unfamiliar script. There were pictures, but they did not grant her enough to follow along if she didn't know what they were prompting her to create.
"It's Elvish, my knight," responded the Queen across from her. A table separated the two, filled with books and peculiar jars of various magical ingredients, most of which looked absolutely revolting. "Most spell books are written in Elvish. Something that you must learn if you wish to further your skills." The book placed before her was sifted through before being tossed onto the floor with a growl. When the palms of Regina's hands slammed against the wooden table top, the knight jumped, eyes widening.
"I assume that book was of no use?" She handed over the one she still held, knowing it was futile for her to search when the words were foreign. Instead, she was guided to a standing chest whose doors were open, revealing several stacked drawers that glowed red and seemed to pulse, as if they were a thousand hearts beating at once. She shuddered, having no doubt that is what truly lay within the confines before her.
"Why don't you make use of yourself and search for more ingredients? I might have a few potions tucked away." Regina's attention fell to the tome and flipped through the pages as her knight obliged, moving away from the unsettling bureau to pull open the drawers of a desk, finding more small bottles and vials, each labeled by the Queen's hand.
"Are you sure that you can't use a shovel to break it open?" Emma rummaged through the drawers for a brief moment and found a strange blue liquid. Its label was torn off. When she turned with it, she saw the sorceress glaring at the offending wooden box. It seemed to pulse with magic.
"It would break the shovel. Protection spells are powerful," she growled and forced open another book. "None of these spells are strong enough to open something from the Dark One."
"What about this?" Emma lifted the vial of liquid but the Queen took it from her grasp with a snarl as if she were faced with a deadly poison.
"It is not anything that will aid us, my knight." Her fingers curled around the thin glass. "I need his book. I had it once, but I cannot remember where I had stored it."
But Emma's interest was not in the book, but the royal blue liquid held close still. "What does that do?"
Penetrating eyes sliced into her as they shot up, narrowing. "Have I not asked you to search?"
The blonde seemed to take a moment to think, smirking inwardly before she murmured, "Not as I recall. You merely stated that you needed his book, but you do not remember where it is located."
Snorting, the brunette brought the vial back to its compartment and folded the chest's doors when Emma's attention was caught by it once again. "Do not be brave with me, ser."
"Where do you suggest I search?" Emma's eyes followed her as Regina paced the small room stocked full of items used for potion making and spell books to aid. She had briefly visited it with the Queen before they left for the Dark One's castle to fabricate the magical dust that led to the very box they were trying to open. She tended to remember an impatient Queen, then, as well, nostrils flaring and eyes dark and wild as they searched frantically.
"Search every cavity in this room, for a start, hm?" Her tone was clipped as she pulled open the drawers of a heavy, oaken desk. "And if we do not find it, then we must look elsewhere."
And, thus, the search began for that particular book, only one that Emma could assume once belonged to the Dark One, or perhaps it was created by him. She had no time to ask the Queen, even when they found the thick tome hidden away on a dusty shelf in the den. It was something that Regina had held great confidence in and the blonde had held her breath as she searched through it, hoping the time spent was not wasted.
It had only seemed to take the Queen minutes to locate the correct page and another spell that, when the knight had gazed upon the pages, could not understand. There were images, though, as she went by those, she recognized several of the ingredients as ones that Regina had in her little jars.
Though, the sorceress cursed as she read through the Elvish words and slammed her hand upon the table once again. "I am completely out of herbs!"
"Why didn't you acquire any more?" Emma looked to the pictures and saw a flowered stalk, recognizing it as something she had passed in the forest.
"I have been busy, my knight. Question me not." Hissing, she paced heatedly across the stone, collecting strange-shaped glass containers; some were round with long spouts and others were shaped as cones. "Could you gather them for me?"
"Where will I find them?" The blonde watched as the Queen set up those containers in an elaborate placement and began to put away the ingredients left on the table.
"The forest," she answered and looked up from her work, lips formed in a scowl. "I created a garden years ago, well, perhaps not a garden. But I made sure I know where they grow." Regina moved from her spot and collected a wooden crate and filled them with unmarked jars. "If you cannot remember the images in the spell book," she said, pushing the tome toward the blonde after setting the crate next to it, "then pick whatever you can and place them into these jars. There are only three particular ingredients that I need and they generally grow together. Pick plenty."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Emerald eyes honed in on the images and she mentally retained them before picking the crate up, nodding.
The Black Knight found herself faced with flowers and thistles and brambles and bushes, plucking anything that she had come across and placing them in the jars. Half of which she didn't know were truly herbs, but she didn't want to risk passing up something that might be pertinent. She had already located the first two required components and kept the image of the third in her brain.
It was a flower, she remembered, even though Regina mentioned an herb. It was red like blood, deep and vibrant, and she would have thought it easy to find among the green and brown of the forest. She said it was the most important ingredient, as if the flower had held magic itself.
Perhaps that was why it was hidden, she thought, moving swiftly through the trees, eyes on the forest floor. It was there, something red, peeking from behind a thick of leaves and she dropped to her knees to uncover the soft, pointed petals of scarlet. Withdrawing her dirk, she carefully cut the stem and placed it into the jar and looked for more, but it remained solitary and she needn't waste any more time.
When she stood and turned, she was met with a shadow approaching her. The plate of his helm was lifted and showed his pressing features. "Ser Emma! I have urgent news. The Queen sent me."
"What is it?" Her heart leapt in her throat as she wondered if Regina had been taken by Rumpel.
But he spoke and calmed her fears, though the words only stiffened her tense muscles. "We are under attack. They have already destroyed Dawnwood and are moving toward Arrowhead. We have men out from the city, but not many. We need you to lead a party north."
The clinking of glass brought logic to her brain when she realized she had dropped the crate. She swallowed and dipped her head. "Bring these ingredients to the Queen."
The young man nodded and gathered the fallen jars. "You may take my horse back to the castle. I can walk from here."
"Thank you, Ser Edward." She didn't hesitate to find the chocolate stallion and mounted him, urging the poor horse to race as fast as he could toward the castle.
The wind whipped her face and stung her cheeks as they rode northbound with the speed of the Gods to meet the offending party. The blonde knight's heart felt as if it would explode the way it pounded against her chest, but the pain was surpassed by adrenaline because they were going into battle.
War.
The word passed through her mind when she gazed upon the familiar silver armor and white horses of her parents' kingdom as they blended with the dark horses and black armor of her Queen's. Blood stained the grass and she could already smell the death in the air as they drew near.
There weren't as many White knights as she had expected and wondered if they had been a scouting party that took advantage of the unprotected border and village. If that were true, that only meant this was a mere taste of what they would be inspiring.
"For the Queen!" Emma's voice pulled forth from her body and sounded as a deafening roar above the fighting and dying, her sword being drawn and held up as she charged her party forward, rumblings of similar words echoing behind her.
These were men she once knew, ones that she had grown up around and who had protected her as she slept peacefully in her castle at night. She found difficulty in keeping her ebony blade forward as the stallion's hooves pounded underneath her toward the nearing battle. But that life was something that she had left behind to create one here, within the Evil Queen's kingdom. She had forsaken their protection when she accepted the dark witch's own.
Light reflected off a silver blade as it came toward her, but she was quick enough to dodge and slash at the knight's arm and watched as he fell to the ground. She didn't bother lingering on him and rode her horse into the thick of the battle, slashing at whomever came near to her until her sword slid through the belly of an unfortunate man.
This had thrown her off her own horse, having forgotten to even release her own sword as the spooked white horse raced off. She fell hard to the ground with her opponent and wrenched her blade free, eyes falling to the man whose last breaths were drawn in that moment. Swallowing away the heaviness that clung to her chest, she picked herself up just in time to be kicked back onto the blood-stained earth.
"Is the Evil Queen so desperate she's enlisting little girls?" The man's laughter boomed and he pointed his sword at her. "It don't matter, does it? She won't last for long."
"You will not succeed. We outnumber you," the Black Knight hissed and kicked his knee as hard as she could. He cursed and stumbled, and she took advantage to stand.
"Not when the rest reach us." The knight clad in silver and white did not hesitate to strike and she easily dodged him, taking the techniques she had learned and taught and applied them, her blood pumping and fueling her to fight for her life.
This wasn't training.
She reminded herself as much when he kept lunging at her and she kept dancing around him, avoiding each movement with precision and saw the sweat as it beaded and fell down his face. Their swords clashed, ebony against silver, and kept this duel until the sun started to descend and a voice shouted among the fighting men.
"Retreat! Retreat!" When Emma turned, she caught sight of a bloodied man in dented silver armor as he hopped onto one of the snowy steeds and raced north. Soon, those who remained had followed him and she looked to man she had been fighting, his eyes burning and his face flush.
"You grow lucky, girl. We will meet again and I will tear you apart." With one last spat, he mounted up and followed the retreating members of his party.
Emma stood, her ears ringing now that silence reigned over the trampled earth. Bodies littered the land around them, both of horses and men, dying or dead. Most of them were her men – ones suited in dark armor. Edward had said they were outnumbered before her group reached them and dominated the tired White knights.
Her blood still moved even though the battle was over, adrenaline fueling her from both the fight and the victory. "A job well done, men," she told the ones who were left, standing and mounting horses, prepared to return. "Return. Rest. We will fight again soon. We must prepare."
She found Captain Uriel by a large steed. He greeted her with a smile. "We reign victorious, though we have lost many."
"And we are already low on numbers." Emma could feel an icy hand grip her. How large would the White party be? And would her parents be the ones who led it?
"We will fight and we will fight fiercely. Defeat means nothing to us." Uriel's voice was strong and sure and she only hoped she could wear his confidence. She had to. For them. For Regina.
She dipped her head. "Are we allowing the new recruits to fight?"
"They won't have a choice if the castle is stormed. Slap a sword into their hands and some armor on their bodies." The dark man mounted his horse and held the reins tight. "I will arrange training, though I trust they know how to swing a weapon."
The Black Knight swallowed and scratched the black horse behind the ear, searching the area for an available steed. "Have you caught wind of when they will attack?"
The captain shook his head. "Not before the sun rises. It will take at least a day for the scouts to return to the main party. Though, we must be prepared, regardless. Sleep will not come easy to these men."
"What shall we do with the bodies?"
"Leave them, for now." Uriel turned his horse and started southbound. "Our knights need their energy."
When Emma muttered an agreement, he was off, following behind the ones that had already left. A rock weighing heavily on her chest, she took an abandoned white mare and rode her back to the castle. It wasn't long until she found Regina, exhaustion settling in her bones as she pushed through the door to the royal bedchambers.
"What happened?" demanded the Queen whose eyes immediately honed in on the dirt and sweat on the blonde knight's face. "When Edward came to me asking for you because we were under attack, I-"
Emma furrowed her brows and made her way over to Regina whose voice had suddenly grown thick. Her eyes looked as if tears had dwelt within them but when the brunette blinked, they were gone. "My parents have made their move. We were attacked by a cocky group of scouters, but they retreated in the end, outnumbered by the time we arrived." She touched the Queen's warm cheek with her knuckles. "We have lost many men."
"When are they attacking?" The question fell from Regina's lips like spilt water.
"Two days, perhaps even three. The remaining knights are resting and the recruits will be trained in basics." She shook her head, slowly losing the strength that she had felt just earlier and allowed herself to crumble. "I am afraid we will be defeated."
"The castle is protected-"
"But they will die. Our men will die, Regina. And I cannot send them out there alone. I…" She felt the seams of her sanity rip apart.
"You cannot go out there, Emma. You will die." There was a certain desperation in her voice that terrified Emma.
"I must join them. It is my duty; it is the duty that you have given me. Who will I be if I turn tail now?" The knight looked upon her Queen. "And- And perhaps… Perhaps my parents are leading them. If I can talk to them… It will end this war."
"And what if Rumpelstiltskin is with them? He had promised to join them when war broke and I am without doubt that he is giddily rubbing his grimy little hands together in angst." She bit and moved away from the Black Knight, guiding her feet toward her vanity. When she reached it, she collected the Dark One's wooden box and turned to Emma.
"But if we have his dagger-"
"That is it, my knight, if we had his dagger." The lid of the box opened, revealing a stale piece of parchment. Emma's eyes honed in on the yellowed note in disbelief.
"Was that all there was within the box?"
"A stupid little riddle, yes." She plucked the paper out and handed it to the blonde. "His little incompetent twit of a son did not know a thing of the dagger's location. He lied to you."
Emma pinched her brow and unfolded the paper to gaze upon the neat scrawl. "… where the sky was stained with blood, and the air reeked of death, where cowardice ran its course, and left the weak man dead…" she read and the lines in her face only creased deeper in confusion. "What the hell does this mean?"
"I don't know!" Regina threw the box onto the floor, causing the wood to splinter and shatter at their feet. "I thought perhaps it could lead to the location of his dagger, but there is no sense to it. A part of the riddle has been torn away." She paced the rough stone floor and snarled. "Even if we knew of its location, we would have no time to retrieve it."
"There must be a way. There must be logic to this." Emma turned the parchment in her hand, over and over again, hoping that perhaps there was a hidden answer somewhere, but only found where the paper had been torn at each end. Of course, if the Dark One knew the answer to this riddle, why would he put it on the paper? Yet, why would he tear it? Scoffing, she folded it back up and held tightly onto it. "Is there a spell, perhaps?"
"A spell? For what exactly?" Regina's gaze snapped to her, lip curling back to show her teeth. "To enchant the paper into talking? No."
"N-No, I mean…" Shaking her head, she stepped around the broken box and neared her Queen. "Perhaps it could direct a path or…"
"A path. You are desperate, aren't you?" But she could only laugh humorlessly. "I suppose we both are. Our lives are hanging on a thread and that thread is held by the Dark One."
"Is there anyone we could ask?" She stepped forward to close the distance between them but the Queen merely moved away, shaking her head, her words grainy.
"Our time together will end and the Dark One will prevail."