Chapter 36

Two Weeks Later

The Queen was sitting on her throne listening to her commanders give her their daily report on their troops. Everyone was as prepared as they could be for what they would soon be facing. All that was left was for them to hear from Snow and her army. Regina had recently sent one of her messenger ravens to the Silver Castle to inform Snow and Charming that her army would meet them on their border. When the mirror had hesitantly told the Queen that Snow was roaming around her castle yelling in various mirrors trying to get in touch with Regina, she rolled her eyes and told him to let her see the girl.

"Did you need something, dear?" she said. Snow jumped back and blinked before opening her mouth to speak.

"Um, yes. Why aren't we just meeting in your kingdom? It makes more sense."

"I had assumed that you wanted our armies to work together. Or am I incorrect?" the Queen said as she raised an eyebrow.

"I…well, yes," she said, blinking rapidly. "But what does-"

"By putting our armies together sooner, it will allow them to develop bonds and train together at least for a short time." Snow nodded and kept her mouth shut as if she had never thought of that before. "One week, Snow." The Queen waved her hand and the image disappeared from the mirror.

Regina rolled her eyes remembering their conversation. It was, in her opinion, quite unfortunate that Snow had learned most of her ruling skills from her father. And her husband had even less experience than she did. The son of a shepherd was not someone who was fit to run a kingdom. Especially during a time of war.

Sometimes, she wondered what it could have been like if she could have accepted Snow. There was always a part of her that yearned for Snow and herself to be young again. For Leopold to merely have taken her into his court and allowed her to wed Daniel while still looking over Snow. She could have helped the young girl grow into a woman and become one of the greatest rulers who ever lived.

But some things were simply never meant to be. Everyone involved suffered because of her choice to save Snow from her horse. Daniel lost his life. So did her father. And Leopold got what he deserved. Snow lost her father and had to run from her, but Regina supposed that Snow at least found Charming. But she knew that she still caused them trouble. Her decision to save Snow had even affected Emma by having her parents shield and protect her for all of those years. And Cora…well, Cora was another story entirely.

Regina noticed that the commander in front of her had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. She nodded once and told him that she was pleased with his report. Of course, his report had been the same since about a week ago. The troops were ready to move out at a moment's notice, just as the Queen had expected them to be. Even though the last war they fought was when Regina was captured by Snow and Charming and that ridiculous little fairy, her army was easily mobilized.

The man in front of her bowed and turned to leave. She shifted in her throne as her eyes wandered over the rest of the room. Graham had taken it upon himself to station more guards in discrete locations around the Queen. She thought that he was trying to be sneaky as to not upset her, but Regina was secretly grateful for the extra protection. Not for herself necessarily, but for Emma.

Her eyes found the Captain standing in the corner of the room nearest the doors. He was in his armor, something he had been wearing since he and Regina had returned from the wolves. His eyes slowly surveyed the room, his hand on the pommel of his sword. When his eyes met hers, he nodded once before continuing his looking.

Beside him stood Raegar. She had gathered him some better fitting clothes that he would be able to wear into her court. A small smirk crept upon her lips as she noticed that with his leather shirt and pants, he looked astonishing like dear Prince Charming. All except for his hair, that is.

If Graham's word was anything to go by Raegar was learning quickly. They devoted a few hours of their days training together, and now that he had an actual instructor, Graham thought he could best even some of the regular soldiers.

He was looking around the room as well, but more out of wonder than worry for the Queen's safety. The boy turned his head quickly, sensing that the Queen was looking at him, and offered her a large smile that she couldn't help but return.

"Presenting Hephaestus, weapons master." Regina's eyes darted to the man standing in front of her and smiled.

"I assume all is going well?" she asked.

He grunted once before rolling his eyes. "You have yerself some real buffoons in this army of yer's. But yes, all the siege weapons I can muster up have been placed in yer army. And some of yer soldiers have been trained in how to repair 'em when they need to be. But honestly, I don't see how they'll repair 'em to yer standards if I'm not there. So I'll be marching with ya."

"What?" the Queen snapped. She had the upmost respect for the man standing in front of her, but he was not someone she wanted marching with them.

"Yer soldiers might be good for fightin', but they ain't got no clue about fixin' those weapons properly. Unless you want 'em breakin' down every five hits or shots, I'd recommend allowin' me to go."

He was right. It would do no good for her soldiers to attempt to repair those machines if they were simply going to be broken again right after they were fixed. But Hephaestus was a valuable asset, someone that she could not afford to lose.

"What if I told you that I wouldn't allow it?" she questioned.

"Well, to be quite honest, yer majesty, I'd probably just go anyway."

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed. When she looked back to the blacksmith, she saw he was smirking at her. "Very well, then. But you'll stay as far away from the action as possible."

"Of course. I wouldn't bring a hammer to a swordfight," he said before walking off. She rolled her eyes again as he lumbered off without even so much as an incline of the head in her direction.

Emma chuckled slightly beside her and she looked down to her. "It seems his manners haven't improved," she said, her eyes warm.

"I think he knows he's so valuable that he doesn't need those manners, dear," the Queen said.

Emma had been doing the exact opposite of what Regina had expected in the days leading up to the war. She had thought that the blonde would want to train with the other soldiers more than just the two hours a day she was currently getting. And she thought she would become cold and distant.

But the princess' reaction was as far from that as could be. Emma tried to spend every waking moment with the Queen even if that meant sitting through court. Though she did suppose the girl didn't mind it nearly as much now that they were discussing the mobilization of her troops. During dinners, she would throw Regina a secret, warm smile that would make it hard pressed for Regina to contain her own. And during the night after they had spent a grueling day dealing with the troubles of the kingdom together, they still found enough energy to cause them to become tangled and sweaty in the sheets together. Then, in the morning, Regina would wake to a strong arm wrapped around her and her head on the blonde's shoulder. They crawl out of bed and start the day again.

Regina wondered if perhaps Emma finally recognized the weight of what they were going to do. They would be marching to a place where people would love to capture the Queen or the princess. Or even kill them. Emma must have thought that both of their lives were in great danger, but Regina knew that no harm would come to Emma. She would always be there to protect her.

As of late, something had intrigued her about what Rumpelstiltskin had told her regarding Emma's heart. If darkness was truly inside her and she was destined to bring light, what would happen if she became as twisted as the Queen? Would it be possible for them to spread their darkness to all the realms? The Evil Queen could rule with her princess and no one could oppose them. And even if Emma was so far gone in her darkness that she would be ok with her precious mother and father dying, Regina would have a far more satisfying brand of punishment in mind. She would lock them up in two completely separate castles and tell the other that their perfect little love had been killed. Killed by their daughter no less. Yes. It would be a perfect, yet completely mortifying, situation.

But still, Regina refused to allow herself to think of such dark things for long. Emma turning dark would alter her personality completely. And the Emma she fell in love with was mostly light. Not only that, but turning Emma towards the darkness at the present time would require manipulation on the Queen's part. Regina had been manipulated enough in her own life, had her fate decided for her more often than not, to know exactly what that felt like. She refused to allow Emma to turn dark because of something she herself did. If Emma were to follow the darkness, choose that life, it would be by Emma's choice alone.

Because of this decision, the Queen never used magic around the blonde except when she absolutely had to. If Rumple was correct and the magic Regina used was tainting her, she had to control herself. Emma often asked her about continuing her training, but the Queen replied with the same excuse that she needed to save her own magic for the war. She knew that Emma guessed that she was lying, but she never said anything. Something which the Queen was eternally grateful for.

The Queen looked forward and squared her jaw. There were a few peasants standing in the back of the room. Ever since she had informed her people of the upcoming war, their problems had been fewer, most likely because everyone was so preoccupied with ensuring her army was well prepared. But there were always some problems that arose that required her attention.

A man walked forward hesitantly. She heard Emma sniff once, clearly noticing his rather strong odor. If the Queen had to wager, she would guess that he worked primarily in the fields with livestock. He had a hat in his hand that he was twisting nervously. For as long as Regina could remember, the peasants had always been nervous when approaching her as she sat on the throne.

The man wasn't talking, merely opening and closing his mouth in rapid succession. A scowl immediately overtook her face as she commanded him to speak. As he did, her mind began to wander yet again.

The situation was so familiar. A man in front of her, unable to speak, fumbling over his words. She remembered the messenger bursting in, out of breath, telling her the princess was being born. In her memory, the smell of Snow's blood invaded her senses, a sick satisfaction coming with it. She remembered Emma's rosy little cheeks and the blonde hair gracing her head. But most of all, she remembered Snow and Charming's terrified faces as they finally understood the weight of what she had done to their daughter.

During those nineteen years that she had waited to take the princess for herself, she often wondered why she didn't simply take her to her palace when she was born. Charming and Snow wouldn't have put up as much of a fight, being as shocked as they clearly were. And raising Emma to become the heir to her own throne as opposed to theirs would, in a way, be an interesting form of payback she wasn't entirely sure Snow would understand the depth of.

But she always came back to the conclusion that forcing them to wait for her to be taken from them, leaving with that dread, was far more satisfying than she could have ever imagined.

She realized that the man in front of her had stopped talking and was looking up at her expectantly. Emma had just cleared her throat beside her. Obviously, she would have to tell him to repeat himself and she would use the excuse that she couldn't understand a single word he said. Even if he wasn't truly mumbling, he surely wasn't foolish enough to contradict the Queen.

"Your majesty!" a voice called from the doorway. A messenger ran up to her, the man in front of her backing up quickly. The messenger knelt on one knee, not making eye contact with her as he spoke. "A bird from the Silver Castle just arrived. They march for the border tomorrow."

Silence enveloped the room. Had it been a normal time, everyone would have quickly left the room. But not a single person had moved since the messenger first spoke. She felt Emma tense next to her. Her eyes found the Captain's and she saw him tense as well.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She saw a few shocked expressions at her kindness. "Clean up and return to your quarters. We march tomorrow."

The boy rose quickly and rushed out of the room. As he passed Graham, he and Raegar made their way to the throne, bowing as the reached her.

"Would you like me to-" the captain began.

"Yes," Regina said, rising from her throne. "When the army meets for their dinner, make the announcement. We ride at dawn."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to tell them?" he asked.

"The night before marching towards a war is not a time when they want to hear from thier monarch. Making a speech tonight to motivate them will simply be wasted. Tomorrow, just before we march, I will speak with them. But tonight, you will make the announcement."

The pair bowed and turned to walk from the Queen.

"Raegar?" she called out, locking her hands in front of her. He turned around quickly and walked to stand in front of her throne again. "I will meet you at the doors of the castle in the morning. From there, I will be taking you to your tutor. While we are away, you'll spend two hours with him every day learning strategy."

There was a strange mixture of emotion on the boy's face. For nearly three days now, Regina had sensed his plan to sneak among the army to go to battle with them. But she simply could not allow for a child to march with them. Not only were the men bawdy, but it was very likely the boy would end up slain. So, she had arranged that a tutor keep him occupied with lessons, the first being when they would leave for battle. It was slightly underhanded, but this was her only choice.

"Yes, your majesty," he said respectfully and bowed before walking to join Graham.

When they left, she looked at the remaining peasants, servants, and guards in the room. She quickly told them that court was over for the day as it was nearly nightfall. They all murmured their assent and bowed, leaving the room as quickly as possible. When the guards hesitated to leave, she nodded her head and they turned to walk out the door.

The Queen slowly turned to look at Emma. The blonde was gripping the armrests of her throne and the Queen was surprised to see only confidence in the eyes looking up at her. Regina inclined her head towards the door beside their thrones and Emma followed her to their chambers without a word.

With a wave of her hand, the doors opened just as they always did and the two women walked in. As soon as the door closed behind them, Regina bent over just slightly, looking as if the weight of the world had been placed on her shoulders. She walked over to her desk and sat down, resting her head in her hands. The Queen took in a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly.

"You're nervous," Emma said. Regina looked up at her slowly, noticing that she was standing practically right in front of her. She half-smiled, a silent admission of something she would never be willing to say. "We're in this together, you know. You don't have anything to worry about."

"It's war, dear," Regina said slowly. "Anything could happen. We could get separated. One of us could…we could…"

"No we won't, Regina," Emma said quietly. The blonde walked around the desk and leaned up against it by Regina's side. "You're the Evil Queen and I'm the Savior, remember? I don't think we would let anything happen to either of us."

The Queen smiled slightly, not letting herself believe those words for even a second. She stood up and stood in front of the princess, searching her eyes, almost wishing she could feel the same confidence Emma had.

"This could be our last night together like this," she whispered.

"Then we should make it count."

The princess gently pressed her lips to the Queen's, staying completely still for a moment before wrapping one of her arms around Regina's waist, her other hand moving to cup the back of her head. She pulled her closer and smiled when Regina wrapped her arms around her.

Regina closed her eyes tightly, willing her tears to not spill over. She couldn't let that ruin this night. She pulled Emma even closer and grazed her teeth against the blonde's bottom lip and then ran her tongue over it. As Emma's mouth opened into a slight gasp, Regina gently dominated the kiss, loving when the blonde submitted to her.

Emma broke the kiss and moved to the Queen's jaw, placing soft, open mouthed kisses there. As she traveled to her neck, she felt Regina lean her head back. She took the opportunity to lightly nip at the Queen's flesh, earning a soft moan. The princess began pushing her to their bed and Regina let herself be led willingly.

As the back of the Queen's legs hit the bed, Emma pushed her backwards gently, causing her to fall. Regina smiled up at her, and with a wave of her hand, their clothes disappeared. The princess looked at her and Regina felt herself blush. Emma was the only one who could ever make her feel like this, make her feel like she mattered.

"You're beautiful," the princess whispered as she lowered herself to the Queen. Regina sighed, feeling the blonde's soft skin against hers, the comfort of her body. Her hands reached around to hold Emma to her while one of Emma's hands caressed her side. As she reached the Queen's hip, Regina arched her back into the blonde slightly, needing her to go further, needing to keep feeling this love.

Emma kissed down the Queen's neck, between her breasts, and over her stomach. Her hands followed, trailing lightly over Regina's pert nipples, eliciting a sharp intake of air. She continued lower, dipping her tongue into the Queen's navel as she passed over it. As she reached her hips, she nibbled on the older woman's hipbone before sucking. She moved even lower, kissing the inside of the Queen's thighs as her hands finally found their place on the Queen's thighs.

When Emma looked up over the Queen's body to look at her, she noticed she was propped up on her elbows, looking down at her, her eyes darkened with arousal, her mouth parted slightly. Just the sight of her made Emma moan, and as she took her first taste of the Queen's arousal, her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Regina's hips bucked up towards her, but the princess pushed them back down, holding her still. Her tongue made circles around her clit slowly, careful not to touch. She took one of her hands from the Queen's hips and began teasing her entrance. After several moments of teasing, Emma licked down further and slowly dipped her tongue inside the Queen. Regina screamed and arched her back again.

Emma quickly replaced her tongue with two fingers and began thrusting into her while her tongue went back to massaging the Queen's clit, flicking once in a while. Two hands pushed Emma closer to the Queen and Regina began moving against the blonde.

"More," she gasped out, and Emma quickly granted her request. She added another finger, still keeping her pace. With just the smallest crook of her fingers, the Queen came undone, nails biting into Emma's scalp, pulling her closer still.

The blonde didn't slow until she felt Regina slowly coming down from her high. When she finally pulled out, she licked her fingers clean and crawled up the Queen's body. She was quickly brought into a searing kiss.

"Stand up," the Queen gasped out urgently. Emma obeyed and Regina stood with her, pulling her close. The spicy smell of magic invaded her senses and she felt her heart quicken. When she opened her eyes, they were back in the throne room. Before she had a chance to register what was happening, Regina pushed her down into a throne. When she looked down, she saw the black stone of Regina's and looked up at her quizzically.

"Yours?"

"If I don't come back, it's yours. Ok?" Regina bent down between Emma's legs and opened them gently.

"What? Regina, no. We're both-"

"No," she said firmly. "Promise me that if anything happens to me, you'll come back here and rule in my stead."

"Regina…"

"Promise," she said even more firmly this time. "And promise you won't forget me."

Emma looked down into Regina's eyes and saw tears swirling. She reached a hand down to cup the Queen's face, and as she did, the first tear spilled over. She wiped it away with her thumb.

"I promise."

Regina pushed herself up and kissed Emma passionately as she pushed two fingers inside the blonde. Emma moaned into her mouth, and when the Queen's thumb found her clit, the moan became even louder.

"I love you so much," Regina whispered into the blonde's mouth.

"And I love you," the blonde moaned back.

Regina kept going, slow and deliberate. Emma's orgasm was building up slowly, her moans becoming louder and louder. The Queen rested her head on her shoulder and felt a few tears run down her cheeks as she kissed Emma's neck. Hands held onto her back, pulling her closer, nails biting into her skin slightly.

"Don't stop," Emma gasped, her hips moving to meet each of the Queen's thrusts. And the Queen didn't. She kept going, getting slightly faster. As she felt Emma's walls begin to clench her fingers, she went even faster, sending Emma over the edge. She bit down on the blonde's neck, licking to soothe the pain.

As she brought Emma back down, she took them back to their room. When she looked into the blonde's eyes, she knew they would be up tonight until they could no longer keep their eyes open.

A/N: From here on out, things are going to get a little intense. I'm actually really excited, to be quite honest about it. So please, review and let me know what you think! And remember you can always PM me with questions or leave them in your review and I'll answer you as best I can. Unless it's math. I'm not answering math stuff.

Thank you all for reviewing last time. And please remember to review this time, too! I was really trying to think of something cool to call you this time around, but I thought calling you guys the marshmallows from Lucky Charms might be morbid because I eat those.

I'd also like to thank the magnificent karuraChan1 for reading over this real quick and letting me know if anything made sense. Thank you for endangering your job to indulge my every whim.

So again, thanks for reading! Y'all be rockin'.