A/N: So, tell me honestly, were you expecting that twist or not? And yes I promise I planned that from the very beginning. There is actually a LOT of structure going into this story. Like I sometimes feel embarrassed about putting literally more hours into this fic than I do on my assignments and studies. And then I remember how much more fun this fic is and I get over it and keep writing.
Also I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter, it IS technically already Monday in my neck of the woods, (in fact I should be asleep but naaahhh screw it y'all need your chapter.)
This one will leave you feeling good (I hope) and I promise no cliffhangers this time around...no promises for next week though...
Enjoy!
"Emma is the rightful queen of the Isles."
Belle had seen Regina go through many sad moments, the death of her father being the most tragic of them all.
But when Regina let out a strangled sob, and crumbled to the floor on her knees, Belle was shocked to say the least - she'd ever seen Regina break like that before. She rushed to her side, wrapping her arms around the older girl as she buried her head in her friend's chest.
"Regina?" Belle asked, trying to get through to the sobbing girl. "Regina what's wrong?"
"She ruined her life Belle." Regina sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks - tinting them red in the process. "She had a kingdom. A throne and a crown set to be on her head and she ripped that away from her along with her entire life and her family."
"Regina you need to calm down." Belle sighed, holding the other girl close. "We can't let Emma know we know all this."
"It all makes sense." Regina sighed. "Why she wouldn't tell me. Why the people here treat her like royalty…because she is…or at least she should be if it weren't for my mother's hunger for power."
"Perhaps that's why Cora didn't want you coming." Belle suggested.
"Of course." Regina wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Never mind my safety, she didn't want me finding out what she's really done. How she ruined the life of a girl who at the time wasn't much younger than I was."
"Regina I know you're upset but you need to keep a level head." Belle said. "You can't tell Emma you know."
"Why not?" Regina asked.
"Because she's spent almost twenty years hiding her identity from the world." Belle said.
"Everyone on this island knows who she is, everyone who's lived through the war anyway." Regina said.
"We can't know that for sure. Everyone addresses her as 'Captain.' Maybe they know she's noble but…Regina even in Misthaven not everyone would know if you're the princess. The poorer classes don't see portraits of you, that's probably true here as well. And if it isn't gods know what her reaction will be to us snooping around and gathering information on her." Belle reasoned out. "We can't tell her."
"And now we're off to meet her grandfather in a couple of days." Regina sighed, scoffing. "He's gained from this war and watched while his only granddaughter suffered terrible losses."
"Regina if your mother were to ever find her…she'd kill her." Belle said. "She's still of royal blood, there are still many who are loyal to her, war or no war. People knowing she's alive could very well incite revolution."
"And my mother wouldn't rest until Emma was dead." Regina dropped her head in her hands. "Is it bad that I regret wanting to know so badly who Emma really is?"
"Wanting to know the story of the woman you love is only natural…but perhaps everyone is better off not knowing." Belle suggested. "Emma seems quite happy just by having you around…does it really make a difference if she's royal or not?"
"Of course not." Regina said. "But I…we could have…Belle if she were a princess or a queen right now…We'd have a chance."
"You do have a chance. On this island and away from your mother's tyranny." Belle said with a smile. "Regina you never asked to be a princess, all you want is to stay with the woman you love, that's all I want to. If Emma can hide away for nearly twenty years and live a simple life on the high seas, what makes you think we can't?"
"Emma didn't have a choice." Regina said.
"But we do. And I for one am not willing to let Ruby go simply because the rest of the world says I should." Belle held Regina's shoulders gently. "None of this matters. You being a princess, Emma being the rightful queen…it doesn't matter as long as you're both happy together."
"You're right. There's nothing I can do about it anyway." Regina sighed. "Not while my mother is alive."
"What are you saying?" Belle asked.
"That I'll live my life with Emma and wait, and then when my mother draws her last breath I'll take my place on her throne and give Emma her kingdom back. Unite our nations the right way, and not through some horrible war." Regina said. "In the meantime I live my life with the woman I love."
"Sounds like a good plan." Belle smiled, pulling her friend in for a hug.
"In the meantime, Emma wants us to lie low when we go see her grandfather. Keep our bandannas on and be quiet. She doesn't want us to get recognized, but she should tell you all this herself later." Regina informed her.
"Okay." Belle nodded, looking at Regina for a moment. "So is that it then? The end of our investigation?"
"We found out who Emma is…we found out as much as we can about the war." Regina sighed. "I'm tired of keeping secrets from Emma. I won't tell her about this of course but, now it's time to live our lives with the women we love Belle. We finally have the freedom we dreamed of as children - no rules, no social obligations. Just us and them and the high seas."
Belle smiled at her. "I like the sound of that."
"Just lie low, I promise we won't be on the White Isle for long, I don't exactly have the fondest memories of the place, and it's crawling with Cora's soldiers. So we go in, talk whatever business old George seems to deem so important, and then get out. Something tells me his offer won't be as enticing as he believes." Emma explained to Belle, Regina standing beside her friend, a small smile on her face as she watched Emma explain the situation with a commanding stance.
"Yes captain." Belle nodded. "And in the meantime?"
"Prepare what you feel you'll need. It'll be a six day journey there and back. Longest you both have been out at sea for one trip." Emma said with a smirk.
"Good thing neither of us get sea sick, right captain?" Regina teased. Emma rolled her eyes.
"Off with you both, I've got work to do." The blonde waved off.
"I should go find Ruby." Belle said.
"You do that." Regina smiled at her, her voice lowering in volume. "I need to have a talk with Emma."
"Just make sure you take it behind closed doors if the conversation turns physical, don't want to give the crew a show." Belle teased.
"Get out." Regina nudged her, getting Belle to giggle as she left the captain's study. When Regina looked over to Emma, she was still standing, but hunched over her desk, looking at her documents with a quill in her hands. It was late, and she knew from what she'd overheard the crewmen saying that a lot of people were at the tavern, perhaps hoping to thank the captain for what she'd done. But Emma seemed to be thinking about business…and here Regina stood, nervous to speak to her about a certain detail regarding their relationship.
"Something on your mind love?" Emma asked, looking up from her desk at the way Regina paced around nervously, unsure of how to broach the subject.
"Just..." Regina gave her a small smile and naturally gravitated toward her. "I'm just wondering about something really."
"Care to share?" Emma said with a smirk. Regina bit her lip and Emma stood up straight, putting her quill down before she stepped off the platform her desk sat on. It felt almost symbolic to Regina. Off that platform she wasn't captain Swan. She was Emma, the same sweet blonde who she'd shared that wonderful moment with the night before.
"What is it Regina?" She asked, stepping up to her and gently taking her hand.
"It's probably silly but..." Regina gently played with Emma's fingers to distract her nerves. "I was wondering if perhaps there would be any new...sleeping arrangements?"
It took Emma a second to catch on, but when she did a small smirk graced her face.
"Forgive me love, I didn't even think of that." She said, pulling Regina closer and caressing her cheek gently with the back of her fingers.
"You have a lot on your mind most of the time, but I can't even think of spending another night without you...not now that we've been honest with each other about our feelings." Regina melted into Emma's touch.
"The feeling is mutual, love." Emma smiled at her gently. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it earlier."
"It's okay." Regina smiled at her.
"You can have your things moved to my room immediately if you'd like." The blonde said, cupping her cheek gently. "And please don't think you have to be nervous about talking to me about things like this Regina…I know we've had our differences in the past love, and I know I wasn't the most hospitable person at the beginning. But now I assure you things have changed. I don't feel the need to distance myself as I did before. And I know I captain the crew you're technically part of now but Regina make no mistake. I love you as my equal, even if you are technically my princess."
Emma gave her a mirthful smirk and Regina rolled her eyes.
"Shall I address you as captain then, or your highness?"
It was a joke from the younger girl's end, but not a very well thought out one, as Emma's eyes left hers as they dropped to the floor for a moment, the mirth gone.
Oh…right.
Regina bit her lip, feeling guilty for bringing up unwanted memories for the blonde. She stepped forward, taking Emma's hands gently in hers and pulling them up to her lips and pressing two soft kisses, one to each hand.
"Or shall we both toss away our titles? Because as romantic as the idea of royalty might seem, as adventurous as the notion of piracy seems from the outside looking in, it isn't who we truly are is it?" she said.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked softly, a slight hint of fear in her eyes.
Gods if she knew that I knew…
"I mean that…the only thing my title gives me is the weight of the world on my shoulders, a future I was given without asking, a long history of being stripped of choice and being told what I must do, what I must say, how to dress…how to walk even. Like the most basic things cease to be basic when the title of princess sits on one's head in the form of a tiara." Regina explained. "And you…being captain gives you so much worry and strife…you have a whole different world on your shoulders but I don't believe it's any lighter in weight than the one I carry. You have men's lives and livelihoods in your hands and when you step onto that ship of yours with all your friends and crewmates you're never sure if all of them will arrive home in one piece. You were stripped of your life in the most cruel of ways and you try so hard to keep on going for the sake of the people of this Cape. Ultimately as wonderful and exciting our titles seem…the truth is far from that. But I don't love Captain Swan…I love Emma. The woman under the hat and coat that make you seem so dominant and commanding. Can you say that my title as princess makes any difference to how you feel about me?"
Emma shook her head. "Regina you could have been the lowest of the low-born. It's your spirit I fell in love with. The girl who refused to stop asking questions. The one who challenged my every move and nearly killed herself insisting she try my pipe."
They both let out a soft chuckle at that and Emma was finally smiling again and Regina felt whole again.
"Then let's do away with titles. When we're together they cease to exist. You're Emma, the woman I love. And I'm Regina…the girl who pushed her luck and found joy in you and this whole new world you've introduced her to."
Emma shook her head and cupped both her cheeks in her hands, leaning down to press their foreheads together. Regina followed suit, closing the space between them and wrapping her arms around Emma's neck.
"I love you, Regina." Emma whispered. Regina closed her eyes, basking in Emma's warmth and comfort, her very presence seemingly righting every wrong in Regina's world.
"I love you too Emma."
It took some mild convincing and a five-second puppy dog face, but Regina was able to convince Emma to join the rest of the crew, as well as Ruby and Belle, at the tavern. When they began to approach it, the four of them walking steadily, Emma and Regina's arms linked together, Ruby's arm tossed around Belle's shoulders, they could hear the sound of the musicians playing as loudly as their instruments would allow, the singer yipping halfway through her song happily as they opened the door and entered the humble building.
"Oy everyone!" a man cried, almost on cue. "It's Captain Swan!"
The larger-than-usual crowd cheered in unison, a proverbial roar of joy at the sight of the villagers' supposed savior.
"Looks like they're quite happy to see you." Regina smiled up at her.
"Aye…you'd think we had a wedding in two days as opposed to a funeral." Emma sighed.
"Captain!" a man called, rushing over to her. Before either of them knew it two men joined him, almost hoisting Emma up, an ale stein being pushed into her hands as she was hauled over towards the bar of the tavern.
"Steady on gents." The blonde said, unsure of what was going on. Before she knew it she was being pushed up onto the bar in a standing position.
"Speech sir! Give us a speech!" someone cried.
"Go on sir, let us hear ye!" another said. Emma rolled her eyes as the crowd slowly climbed to a crescendo with their repeated cheering.
"Speech! Speech! Speech!"
"Alright alright!" Emma raised her hands to silence them.
"Silence for the cap'n!" someone shouted. The whole crowd fell dead quiet. It was a marvelous scene, Regina thought, being handed a stein herself as she watched the blonde.
"Before I start folks I think there's something important we all have to do. Hats off everyone." She said, reaching up and taking her own hat off. "A moment of silence, for Sally Moore."
The crowd went even quieter, which Regina didn't think possible until she realized that even the whispering among people in the crowd died off. She could drop a needle a mile off, and it would break the peace that was in this room.
"May her soul find rest and peace, among the heavens and in the light of the gods." Emma carried on. "May her spirit live on in each and every one of us. The bravery of a warrior, the nurture of a mother, and the protectiveness of a wife. May we remember her, not only for who she was but for what she stood for, and what she died for."
She lifted her stein up. "To Sally Moore!"
"To Sally!" the crowd said, again in unison, joined together in a way that not even war could rip apart.
"Tell us about the fight sir! Tell us how you slayed those traitors!" a man said after a moment. Emma smirked at the crowd, who seemed enticed by the idea of a war story.
"Truth is folks, it's the men who stood by my said that did most of the slaying." She said. "I was caught in a battle with a brute carrying an axe as tall as Michael over there."
Regina looked over to where Emma pointed, to a ridiculously tall man who was laughing at the jab.
"You showed 'im not to mess with you I bet eh cap'n?" a man called.
"I stood my ground. I faced him head on, I dodged the bloody axe that's for sure." She said, the crowd loving her story. Regina figured it was common for war stories to go embellished, make the teller seem like a hero. So she wasn't expecting the next line.
"But uh…truth be told he nearly sent me off to whichever hell I'm bound for." Emma said. "He managed to knock me down. Had his boot on my chest, his axe hovering over my head, ready to lop it off with one strike…My head would be sitting on a spike on his ship right now…if it weren't for a very special girl."
"Regina." Belle nudged her, breaking her out of her shock as she stared at the captain. "She's talking about you."
"Who's the girl then cap'n?" a woman called. The princess' eyes met the captain's, and Emma smirked, gesturing with her hand for Regina to come closer.
"What do I do?" Regina whispered to Belle. The younger girl chuckled.
"Uh. Go, obviously." She nudged her forward. "Go on!"
"Uh okay." Regina moved forward nervously, the crowd parting to let her through, a straight aisle being formed as she walked over to Emma. When she got closer to her, Emma crouched, a hand coming down. Regina was hesitant for a moment, but then she took it, all of a sudden being lifted up by two men, one taking a leg each and pushing up to lift her up onto the bar beside her, a beer stein being handed to her again.
"Oh…thank you." She said, smiling nervously as the crowd eyed her with some curiosity.
"This girl, ladies and gents, is the reason I'm still standing here tonight." Emma wrapped an arm around her and held her close to her. "I looked up, saw that brute lift his axe above his head…And I'll be honest, I shut my eyes, and I started to pray to the gods for mercy. And they gave me more blessings than I deserve when they sent this one my way. I hear a gunshot, next thing I know I look up, and the brute crumbles to the floor, this one standing proudly…Gun aimed straight, a smirk on her face like the devil. Pulled me up, dusted me off, and off we went, taking whatever we could find along the way."
Emma mimicked the made-up proud stance that Regina had apparently stood in in the captain's version of the story, fingers held out to mimick a gun.
"Ain't that right lass?" the blonde pulled her close again as everyone looked up at her in awe.
"Uh, didn't I start shaking like a leaf in a wind storm and nearly cried because I killed a man?" Regina muttered quietly over to the captain.
"They don't need to know that." Emma muttered back before speaking to the crowd again. "This lass here is my hero folks, I owe her my life…and so much more."
Regina smiled up at her and Emma looked back, a devilish smirk on her face before she turned fully towards her, wrapping her arms around the princess' waist and dipping her down, kissing her deeply…and very publicly as well.
The room had broken out into a roar of cheers and whistles, but the blood pumping through Regina's ears, a reflection of the way her heart picked up speed at the way Emma kissed her, drowned the noise all out. With her eyes closed and her arms around Emma's neck, the tavern might as well have been empty - it made little difference to her, no one else mattered at that moment.
"She made her a hero." Belle smiled. "Incredible."
"She did more than that love, she won her the love, respect, and protection of the people in this village." Ruby said, smiling over the the younger brunette. "She also staked her claim. Any man touches that girl and they're dead - and no one would try and stop Emma."
"How romantic." Belle chuckled.
"Well it does give one ideas." Ruby said, turning and smiling at Belle, pulling her in by the waist and dipping her.
"Copy cat." Belle teased.
"We can't all come up with bright ideas." Ruby chuckled before she leaned in and kissed her deeply.
Sadly, the kiss between Emma and Regina had to end, and the princess finally registered the cheering.
"What's your name then lass?" a man called over to her.
"Regina…uh…" Her last name, of course, would be a death sentence.
"Regina Mills." Emma said. "Miller's daughter off of Misthaven - and a spunky one too - caught her stowing away on a ship here hoping to rob 'em blind and run away when they made port."
The blonde pulled her in rather roughly, laughing like it was the best thing she'd ever heard, a few men laughing with her.
"Well then, three cheers for Regina Mills!" A man cried, his stein up. "Hip hip!"
"Hoorah!"
