Emma woke early in the morning. As she had hoped, Regina had struggled to keep her hands to herself after cuddling up to Emma and feeling all of that uncovered soft skin. Emma had managed to encourage Regina to remove her nightgown while they made love, though the Queen had quickly re-dressed once they were ready to fall asleep. She slipped out of the bed and pulled her shirt over her head, hunting around for her trousers. There was barely any light coming through the gap in the curtains, and as she ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair she remembered she had planned on washing it before they went on their flying adventure. Locating her shoes under a chair, she picked them up, there was less chance of making a noise if she carried them and the floors were swept clean so often she wasn't likely to step on anything sharp. Then she blew Regina a kiss and left the room.
When Regina woke a little later she found Emma's side of the bed still warm but the blonde was gone. She went over to the mirror on her dressing table and removed the thin black material which had been covering it. Emma still didn't know her secret, and she hadn't seemed to notice that Regina covered the mirror when they were alone. Tapping on the glass brought a sleepy looking Genie into view.
"Good morning your majesty."
"I need you to show me Emma's room."
"My we're in a bad mood this morning. Your favourite little guard failed to please you last night?"
Regina curled her hands into fists, "show me Emma's room. Now."
His face vanished into smoke and when it cleared Regina could see Emma's room.
"Thank you," she knew she had to be polite, sometimes when he was upset with her he wouldn't co-operate with her plans. "Can you find Emma for me please, without letting her know you're there."
A momentary pause, then his voice came through, "the mirror in her wash room is steamed up but I can hear water moving. She must have used magic to heat the water this early, the servants can't have carried any up yet."
"Good, I need you to watch that mirror and let me know if you hear her about to leave that room."
"What are you up to?"
"I have a letter to deliver, but I don't want her to see me."
Thankfully her mother had returned it to her. She'd planned on putting the letter there last night, but Emma had refused to go to sleep early and now she was risking getting caught with it. Using magic she transported herself to Emma's room, slipped the letter from her friends under her pillow exactly where it had been left before and then returned to her room all in less than three minutes.
"Okay, you can leave Emma alone now," she told the mirror.
Much preferring to look at Regina's face, he complied. She didn't dismiss him as she chose her clothes for the day, letting him talk to her about the things he had seen while spying on her dungeons and other places in her kingdom. When he was finished and she had thanked him, she went into her own bathroom to get dressed, knowing there were no mirrors in there for him to use. He was still upset with her when she came out, so he didn't compliment her on her appearance as per his usual routine. She tried to cheer him up by making conversation with him, asking his opinion on her different earrings until finally his voice softened and when she was ready to leave he told her she looked perfect. She smiled at him, and was about to thank him for his help when Emma rushed into the room without knocking.
Regina stood, obscuring the mirror as best she could, though Emma's eyes were unfocused enough that she wasn't really seeing what was in front of her.
"What's wrong?" Regina asked, moving towards her.
"This!" Emma held out a piece of paper, offering it for Regina to read.
Regina took it, and her eyes skimmed over the writing to remind herself of the contents, "your so-called friends have finally remembered you?"
"I found it in my room this morning. I don't know how they got it in here, and I don't understand why they didn't stay and talk to me themselves. They must have been searching for me all this time and only just found a way to get the letter into the palace. I have to go find them!"
"Emma, calm down. The letter says they'll wait for you every weekday they first met you, but I don't understand the place. There are just blank spaces after nonsense words with a line under the blank spaces."
Emma laughed, "it's a code. The words are song lyrics, but as they're songs from my world they figured no-one here would be able to guess the answers - the missing words - in case the letter fell into the wrong hands."
"And you know the answers? You know where they'll be waiting for you?"
"Yes. Today's the day they'll be waiting, they first met me on a Sunday, but I don't know this world well enough to know where to go for the place they mentioned."
"Where is it?"
Emma hesitated and Regina felt irritated that she might not share the information. She knew she had to try and gain Emma's trust if they were to find her future enemies.
"Perhaps Mal could fly us there today," she suggested, "or if you'd prefer to go alone we could drop you off nearby and wait for you."
"I'm just worried about how they'd react seeing a dragon flying towards them," Emma explained. "I want you to come with me and meet them, but..."
"I'm the Queen and that might frighten them as well? Once we're on the ground away from Mal I can alter my appearance if you wish. I think you'll be safer if we take Red with us too, but it's your decision," she took Emma's hands in hers. "How much do you trust them?"
"When I came here I trusted them. I mean, sure, part of me worried they were crazy - talking about other worlds - but it's all real, and we were friends for a while before that, none of us had parents to look out for us so we helped each other. Now they think they've found my parents. I have to go."
"Then you should go, and if you need me just use your magic."
Emma hugged her, pressing her face into Regina's hair, "I'm finally going to meet my parents."
Placing a comforting hand on Emma's back, Regina kept her face from betraying her thoughts. She would persuade Red to go with Emma and she would stay nearby just in case the blonde needed rescuing.
Maleficent sat casually on a stone bench in the gardens, a basket filled with picnic treats next to her, waiting for the others. She was eager to get going, to stretch her wings and soar up where the air was cooler. Regina was the first to arrive, but she didn't look happy.
"Do we need to chase the youngsters up?" Maleficent asked, flexing her fingers and allowing a small spark of magic to play between them.
"They aren't coming," Regina dropped to the bench, folding her arms. "Emma's friends have invited her to go and meet her parents. I sent Red along to keep her safe, and so she doesn't get lost. She didn't want me to go with her."
"I suppose a reunion of that sort would be a bit emotional, and..."
"And introducing me to them wouldn't get her off to a good start."
"I only meant..."
Regina raised an eyebrow and when Maleficent shrugged apologetically she shook her head, "I suppose Emma came to the same conclusion. At least wearing her guard uniform should give her some security along the way. They've taken a carriage which will be faster and Emma will explain to Red where they're going once they're on the road."
"Well this is wonderful news, I finally get you to myself for the afternoon," Maleficent smiled and picked up the basket. "Why don't we fly to your favourite beach and have a picnic there. It should be quiet at this time of year and we have more than enough food for just the two of us."
"That does sound appealing."
"I'll even use my magic to keep everyone away, if the sight of a dragon doesn't scare them off first, and then we can have a swim in the sea."
"And look for those beautiful shells?"
"Yes, you could bring one back for Emma. I'm sure she'd like that."
"And will you be bringing some back for anyone?" Regina asked finally breaking into a smile.
Maleficent pressed her lips together and blushed, shaking her head as Regina laughed.