Author Note: I'm thinking I should have put a scene in the middle there but... sorry.

"Why must you bother me?"

Rumple sighed as the blonde simply blinked at him, waiting for his answer to her latest question. He muttered something beneath his breath and then answered, "From what I understand, someone with prolonged exposure to succubae risk losing their sanity, which I suppose could mean their untimely death, yes."

Emma frowned as she considered his words. Regina had given her the book as she said she would and Emma read it, as she said she would but she had questions and Regina was otherwise engaged, and that meant she had to settle for the male version of the resident know-it-all.

"So you think I should help her?"

He looked up, eyebrow raised as he deadpanned, "Well unless you enjoy the thought of crazed villagers running about the place, setting fires and sacrificing babes before dropping dead in the stre—"

"I get it," she groaned, interrupting what she felt was an entirely unnecessary helping of snark. "Jesus, no wonder Regina is such a sass master with you as her teacher."

He preened at what he considered a compliment for a second there; face contorted with what she assumed passed as a prideful grin on his features before he then shook his head and said, "If you're done tormenting me with your presence, go find someone else to annoy as I have things to do."

"You can be such an asshat sometimes," Emma replied but moved toward the door, as the one question she truly cared for an answer to had been dealt with and she likely loathed his presence more than he did hers.

"Yes yes," he murmured with a roll of his eyes. "Off you go, try not to trip on your way out; it would be a shame for you to lose the few brain cells it takes to come up with such witty and original comebacks."

Okay, maybe not.

"Die in a fire, Rumpty Dumpty," she replied, slamming the door on his retort and making her way through the corridors to the throne room where she hoped to catch Regina when court ended.

Almost there, she halted as the doors opened and upon seeing her mother, she darted around a corner with the hope she hadn't been spotted. In the two days since the ball, she had somehow managed to avoid her and if kitchen gossip was to be believed, Snow White was apparently upset with her—even more so, since she couldn't find her.

Emma was not in the mood for that nonsense. She was a grown woman for shits sake, the last thing she needed was a scolding from mommy dearest. Besides, it wasn't as though she was the one who floored a nobleman and the fact Killian did it for her shouldn't be held against her.

Uh uh.

Releasing an uncharacteristically high-pitched squeak, she suddenly found herself with a hand on her wrist before she was transported right back to where she had come from.

"Oh wonderful, you've returned," Rumple intoned blankly, which Emma ignored in favour of the woman who'd scared her half to death.

"Do you want me to have a heart attack, is that it?"

Regina smirked and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before sauntering across the room. "You were hiding from your mother, I was helping; a thank you would suffice."

"Right," Emma drawled. "Thank you for scaring the shit out of me."

"You're welcome."

"If you two don't mind, I'm trying to read," Rumple said, breaking the two from their odd little staring competition.

Why they bothered was beyond him, they were both as hard headed as the other and left to themselves, they'd likely still be there tomorrow morning. He supposed it was too much to hope their dating would end their silly little games with one another, if anything; they had only gotten worse.

"I'm sorry, Rumple dear; are the words too long? Would you like some help?" Regina mocked, pulling a grin from Emma that she turned on him as he rolled his eyes.

"Very well," he sighed, resigned to their childish antics. "As much as I enjoy the asinine company of two four year olds, I have more interesting things I could be doing than wasting my time in here—like Belle, for instance."

"Disgusting," Regina grimaced at the same time Emma snapped, "Ew," and he smirked, flicking his wrist and disappearing in a puff of smoke before either had the thought to throw something at him.

"I thought Gold was bad," Emma stated, dropping into the chair the imp had just vacated. "He's got nothing on Rumplestiltskin."

"He always has been a bit of a pervert," Regina murmured as she took her own seat across the room. "He made a comment during my younger years about it being humorous that I was eating roast swan, I hadn't truly deciphered his meaning until recently."

"That's somewhat beyond being a bit of a pervert," Emma replied with laughter in her voice and Regina conceded the comment with a nod. "And roast swan, really?"

Glancing down at the maps in front of her, Regina leaned back in her chair. She was meant to be researching possible areas that a succubus could inhabit without drawing attention from the less accepting residents of the Enchanted Forest, but as Emma seemed uninterested in returning to her duties at the moment, she decided it could wait.

"Hobgoblins," Emma stated, stopping her horse in the middle of the road and holding an arm out to signal a stop, halting the two sisters who rode behind her.

With a confused frown and unsure she had heard the blonde correctly, Regina pulled up beside her, grasping the hand of the outstretched arm as she questioned, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Emma smiled, entwining their fingers. "Hobgoblins," she repeated with a nod toward an outcropping of rock where Regina noted the faintly carved symbols confirming the blonde's claim.

"There's another village about four miles up the road, and the one we passed through is roughly equal the distance," Emma added. "That cave there would be similar to what Zelena is used to, so we could clear it out and she'd have a place to live for years, possibly decades—it's also less than thirty miles from here to the White Kingdom."

Zelena dropped down from her horse and sauntered to the cave entrance while Emma and Regina remained astride their mounts, waiting for the woman to conduct her search. It seemed a little too out in the open to Regina but as the decision wasn't hers, she kept quiet, unwilling to spoil Emma's good mood by pointing out what she thought of as obvious.

Instead, she pulled her hand free of Emma's grasp and placed it on her thigh, squeezing gently in a show of gratitude for the consideration she was showing. Emma smiled in understanding as she leaned to the side and Regina met her halfway, accepting the kiss offered and sighing when it was over far too soon for her liking.

After a few minutes of walking back and forth along the rock face, Zelena returned. "Would you mind if we searched the other sides? I'll need to see inside the cave as well but if this is the only entrance—"

"I was going to suggest blocking this one and recreating it somewhere else," Emma interrupted. "This likely only exists because of the distance to the road. Hobgoblins are thieving little bastards and the closer their hideout to their victims, the easier it is for them to escape since the average person wouldn't bother following them into a cave; too much chance for getting lost or falling to their death in the dark."

Zelena and Regina stared at her, an equal measure of surprise and awe in their expressions, and Emma smirked. "What? I read," she said, swinging down from her horse and leading it off the road into the forest. "Come women, daylights a'wastin'."

Regina shook her head and slipped from the saddle, noticing Zelena's glance from the corner of her eye and matching her sister's grin with one of her own. It seemed her study of the Realm's maps were for naught. Emma was smarter than anyone would have given the former Sheriff credit for, and she was far less impulsive than Regina remembered. Emma had proven time and again that she wasn't anywhere near the same person she was during their time in Storybrooke and Regina had to remind herself once more not to underestimate the blonde.

It didn't take them long to discover a second entrance into the cave, but by the time they finished examining the exterior night was almost upon them. Emma suggested riding to the next village, reasoning that it would be easier to clear the cave during the day while its current occupants slept. Zelena agreed, adding that she needed to get a feel for the people who would eventually become her thralls, and the three of them returned to their horses.

Evening blanketed the sky as they approached the village and a small mist started to descend on the surrounding area. Regina frowned, immediately sensing the change of energies in the air and pulled them to a stop once again with a sigh. Emma gave her a funny look.

"What's wrong?"

"Can you not feel it?" Emma chewed her lower lip and shook her head. Regina scowled, realising she'd deadened her sense of magic as she scolded, "I told you to stop doing that."

Emma rolled her eyes before she closed them, a shiver racing down her spine as they opened a moment later. "Oh that," she breathed. Regina nodded, rubbing her hands along her arms to chase away the chill as Emma asked, "What is it?"

"Werepeople," Zelena responded, grinning. Emma glanced between the two of them, confusion etched on her face and Zelena elaborated, "Like your wolf friend—Red, I believe is her name. It would appear that this village is infested with them; what you're feeling is the power of their curse combined."

Emma nodded, looking thoughtful as she pursed her lips. After another moment, she scratched her head and asked, "Does this affect your ability to enthral them?"

"On the contrary," Zelena purred and winked as Regina shot her a warning glare. If not for the amulet still fastened around her neck, Regina would have slapped her for using that voice on the blonde. "This simply means I appreciate your choice in location even more, Princess."

Knowing the nickname would irritate Emma; Regina relaxed and distracted her by explaining the comment. "Human thralls sustain her power but their minds are weak, which is why she needs to move every ten years or so to stop them from losing their sanity. Not only are werepeople only half-human and therefore stronger willed, they are also magic and that means they preserve her power and her life force."

"So what," Emma asked, turning to the redhead. "You'll age more slowly?"

"Exactly," she answered, nudging her horse forward and forcing them to follow. "With the sheer number of them that I can feel, you've lengthened my life a good half a century, at least."

"Great," Emma muttered, clearly not as pleased with herself as Zelena was.

Regina wasn't sure what exactly Emma's problem with her sister was, but it was starting to bother her a lot more than she thought it probably should. It wasn't as though Emma took to most people and she didn't expect that to change simply because Zelena was related to her, but part of Regina suspected the blonde's dislike as something more than her aversion to people in general.

Making a mental note to ask her about it when they had the chance to be alone, she merely watched the blonde as they entered the village. As good a friend as Red was, their time spent travelling together hadn't exactly endeared the blonde to other shifters and Regina knew of the distrust Emma held despite her less desirable experience being with a werelion no longer in possession of his sanity.

"I need to find and speak with the head honcho," Zelena informed them once they reached the meagre excuse for a stable.

Regina nodded. "We'll find the inn and wait for you there," she said and Zelena smiled, inclining her head before she moved passed them and back toward the village square.

When she was out of earshot and out of sight, Regina slipped her arm around Emma's waist, ignoring the startled jerk of the blonde's body and leading her in the same direction. She knew all of her moods at that point and she knew, given the silence, Emma was on her way to becoming full on broody if she didn't intervene.

"This trip was supposed to stop this," she murmured, fingers inching beneath cloth to dance along her hip.

Emma sighed. "Sorry," she replied, pressing in closer and laying her head on Regina's shoulder. "I have questions that are—well, none of my business to be honest but that doesn't stop me wanting to ask them…"

As she trailed off, Regina considered her words and had to admit she was curious. Generally, Emma wouldn't hesitate to seek answers regardless of whose business she was sticking her nose in—she was a lot like her mother in that regard. The only time she could remember in which Emma held her tongue was when it had the potential to upset her, and even then she wasn't able to resist for long.

Entering the inn, she released her hold on the blonde and gestured to an empty table. Emma made her way over to it without word as she proceeded toward a heavy-set woman stood behind the bar. The woman eyed her suspiciously but otherwise accepted her coin for two rooms and something to eat before she disappeared into what Regina assumed was the kitchen.

She could feel the eyes on her as she walked over to Emma whose gaze was the only one she wasn't meant to feel intimidated by, the blonde watching her like someone ready to pounce on to the nearest person who seemed the least bit threatening. As ridiculous as the woman's protective tendencies were, Regina still smiled, pleased by the thought of her Princess jumping to her rescue even with her somewhat rational fear of those who could rip them both to shreds in a matter of seconds.

"You know they have an almost dwarven-resistance to magic, don't you?"

Emma sucked on her lower lip and nodded, eyes darting about the room briefly before resettling on her. "It's just weird—being able to feel them all like this," she reasoned with a shrug.

"Ah," Regina hummed, understanding. "Just this once, I will refrain from scolding you like a child if you wish to tune them out again."

As soon as permission left her lips, Emma's face contorted in concentration and the difference was noticeable within seconds. Shoulders relaxed, releasing their tension and the smile on her lips was less strained as Emma slumped in her seat.

"Oh," Regina said, blinking as realisation dawned on her. "I apologise."

Emma frowned and tilted her head in question. "For?"

"Their curse—or gift, depending on how they themselves look at it—is dark," she explained, shaking her head at her thoughtlessness. "I sometimes forget we feel these things differently and only now realised the effect it must have had on you."

"S'ok," Emma dismissed, a lopsided grin on her lips and Regina too relaxed, relieved to see her playful Princess returning. "Did you remember food this time?"

Regina chuckled, nodding as the grin widened and Emma stretched an arm across the table, wiggling her fingers in what she referred to as a 'gimme' motion. She gladly gave in to the silent demand, placing her hand in the blonde's and uncaring that the gesture garnered them further attention as her chest warmed.

Their meal arrived and their hands remained clasped as they ate, the attention on them tapering off until it was just the two of them staring at each other. Emma continued to sport her grin and the longer it stayed, the harder it was for Regina to resist mirroring it. She felt like a silly teenager with a crush, but even that wasn't enough to make her stop and part of her wondered if this was what could have been their week together a month ago when Emma had tried to convince her not to return to the White Kingdom once Zelena was dealt with.

If so, she regretted not giving in to one of the blonde's whims for once. Happiness was a rarity in her life and if she had any doubt when they started, that was no longer the case. Emma Swan, former enemy and constant pain in her ass was a definite part of what made Regina happy.

"Can I ask you something?" Emma paused, spoon halfway to her mouth as she gave a tentative nod. Regina smiled, hoping to put her at ease, and questioned, "Why do you not like Zelena?"

Guilt flashed in emerald eyes, the emotion unmistakable as it reminded her of false murder accusations and Regina frowned, curious and confused simultaneously. "Uh it's kind of irrational?" Emma replied, the uncertainty in her voice more than evident. "I just… she knew about you all this time and all she did was helping you from afar? Like why didn't she… I don't know—rescue you or whatever?"

"Self-preservation," came a response from the right and their heads snapped to the side to find Zelena, a faint, almost sad smile on her lips. "I may have been able to save her from our mother, but I wasn't deluded enough to believe I could take on the Dark One and survive."

Emma swallowed and ducked her head. "Like I said," she murmured, turning back to the bowl in front of her. "It's irrational."

Regina squeezed her hand in support, eyes moving to her sister as the succubus took a seat. Zelena winked at her before addressing the blonde, "No matter; I'll win you over eventually, Princess."

With a smirk, Emma responded, "Not if you keep calling me that, you won't."

"Yes," Regina agreed. "Only those who share her bed have that privilege, I'm afraid."

"Well it's not as though I haven't tried that already," Zelena sighed dramatically and Emma rolled her eyes, mock glaring at the brunette as Regina chuckled.