Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Queen
Emma knew with every beat of her horse's hooves and every passing tree that she was making a horrible mistake. Even the sound of the guards following for her safety did nothing to ease her mind. Bracken had been too tired for her to drag the mare out a second time, so she'd had to settle for one of the standard horses and it felt wrong under her. It was well trained and confident, but it didn't anticipate her like her own steed and that alone was enough to turn her mild sense of unease into a bubbling cauldron doubt.
Her personal guard were tired too. She was being selfish, impulsive and reckless. Having travelled thus far at a brisk trot, she pulled back on the reins until the stallion slowed to a casual walk and her head guard rode up alongside her.
"Your majesty?" he asked, sensing her conflict.
"Aren't you going tell me that this is an ill-advised endeavour?" Queen Emma asked in her most self-depreciating tone. It wasn't the first time that she had given him the run around after a blow-out with her wife, but it was the first time she'd dragged him into the forest on a day long journey even as the sun disappeared behind the canopy of trees, and after they'd just returned from a tour of the kingdom.
"I believe you have appointed-advisors for that, your majesty," the lieutenant answered as he swallowed a smile. "My job is to follow your orders and give everything to keep you safe from whatever the world might try to throw at you."
She chuckled softly and levelled a raised eyebrow in his direction. "But who keeps you safe from me?"
Genuinely intrigued by the question, Lieutenant Fowler considered his answer for a moment. "I suppose that would be up to your judgement, your majesty."
Emma huffed, mostly to herself, but she couldn't deny his assessment. Yes, soldiers lived and died by the will of their superiors. It was the superior's responsibility not to take that loyalty for granted and lead their men into unnecessary danger. "In that case, I'm not sure that my judgement is up to scratch today."
The lieutenant seemed disinclined to openly agree that the queen's decision to ride through the night without preparation was stupid. His response was calculated. "It is not my place to tell you when would be the best time to rescue your father. I understand that the matter is of some urgency."
The queen heard the 'but' in his words and pulled her horse to a stop. "I hate the idea of him being a prisoner anywhere," she spoke with pain and anger sharp in her voice. "But we can't be there before dark and I have no plan of action for when we do get there."
Lieutenant Fowler recognised the struggle behind his queen's troubled gaze and cleared his throat quietly. "It has been a long day, your majesty. Perhaps first thing tomorrow?"
Emma shook her head. "Thank you, but no," she answered firmly. "This needs careful planning, not another hot-headed leap into the fray." She turned her horse, ignoring the gnawing in her stomach, and made for home again.
It was testament to how little she'd been thinking that she hadn't appreciated how far through the forest they'd already ridden. In her haste, she'd planned to pick up supplies at villages on the way, but it only occurred to her now that she would be pulling people out of their beds, demanding food from them and ruining whatever goodwill she'd earned to date. Not that her image was more important to her than her father's safety, but she considered how much trust they put in her and Regina. With her mother's declaration of war, the people needed that confidence now more than ever.
It was dark by the time they reached the turn off for Wood End and they still had half an hour's travel ahead of them. They picked up the pace a bit, almost at a canter down the well-maintained highway, and soon were making good time.
Now that the queen's thoughts were clearer, she began to realise how vulnerable she'd made herself and felt hairs rise on the back of her neck. What if those people who had kidnapped King David were on the lookout for her too? It wouldn't be a stretch for anyone who knew her to assume that she might be stupidly impulsive when she found out about her father's fate. What if they were lying in wait for her at this very moment? Where would that leave Regina?
Stupid, Emma! she chastised herself as the sound of snapping twigs and distant voices suddenly reached them from somewhere deep in the trees. Within seconds, what might have been a small group of noisy wanderers, soon sounded like an army of blood-thirsty animals. The guards were on high alert in an instant, all closing in formation around their queen while the lieutenant urged her not to stop.
It was hard to tell from which direction the approaching hoard were closing on them. The trees picked up every sound and threw them around until they were a distorted mess, but after a while, it seemed as if the growing cacophony was fading again and Emma allowed herself to feel a little less panicked. Their horses were tiring but they were passing the last half-mile stone so it seemed certain that they would make it to the castle before their pursuers caught up to them.
Who are they? the queen began to wonder as their mad dash drew close to an end. The thought had barely registered in her mind when a shadow threw itself into the road in front of them and forced the galloping group to a stop. Emma strained to see through the bodies of the guards in front of her and the darkness enveloping their surroundings, but by a sliver of moonlight, she could just make out the shape of a wolf, and one with a bundle strapped to its back no less.
An archer either side of the road aimed an arrow at the beast and the queen felt adrenaline flood her system again. "Don't shoot!" she yelled over the frantic beating of her heart. The men obeyed, but questioning eyes narrowed on all sides around her and no one moved to lower their weapon. "She's a friend," she told them sharply and before they could question her sanity, she lifted her voice to address the wolf. "Red, stay on the road to the castle, we'll follow! Don't stop for us!"
To the soldiers' surprise, the wolf obeyed. They weren't out of the woods yet though, neither literally nor figuratively, and Lieutenant Fowler wasted no time in questioning the bizarre events as he ordered their formation back into action.
The werewolf was as fast as any horse and reached the gates of the castle just ahead of the royal and her entourage. She waited, panting hard, her golden eyes fixed on the treeline as the blonde queen made directly for her and dismounted in a rush beside her. Red lifted her head, sniffed Emma's coat for quick confirmation and then began pushing the queen into the courtyard and to safety.
With the gates closed firmly behind them, Emma thanked her guard and ordered them to spread word of what they'd encountered before they were off duty for the next shift. Lieutenant Fowler seemed ready to challenge her decision for a moment, but one look at the haggard faces changed his mind. Instead, he simply asked for them to report for a quick briefing before they retired for the evening.
"Lieutenant," Queen Emma addressed the man before he could run off himself. "Thank you for your support tonight. I will not forget your dedication to duty – even when it comes to fulfilling those that you are not paid for. I apologise for dragging you out."
"I would have followed you all the way to King George's castle and stormed the dungeons for you, your majesty. I still will. Though, I appreciate your wisdom in realising that the time is, as yet, not quite right."
She smiled wanly. "Thank you," she repeated and waved him away. Turning back to the wolf, she cocked her head to one side. "Red, what are you doing here?" Seeing something like exasperation behind those golden orbs, she sighed and turned towards the steps leading to the castle. "Come on. Let's find somewhere private so you can put your cloak on."
Emma was fully prepared to run into her wife and have to explain not only her animal companion, but why for a seemingly pointless task she'd run off and then returned. Regina was nowhere to be seen however and the odd pair managed to make their way to one of the guest rooms with only a short detour for the blonde queen to order some food.
Red shrugged off her load with a practised move and nosed around in the contents of the bag for a moment before nudging it towards the queen and allowing human hands to make light work of removing her signature piece.
"Emma! What were you doing out riding in the dark!?" the tall brunette demanded to know once she'd shifted back into her human form. "Don't you know how dangerous it is out there at the moment? Didn't Snow send you a letter today?"
Taken aback, the blonde flushed with embarrassment. "Yes, she did. Which is why I was going to find my father."
"So, he's not here? The Evil Queen didn't abduct him?" Red questioned curiously.
"What? Regina? No! Red, what has been happening back home?" Emma cringed inwardly as she realised that it was no longer her home and that she was quite happy where she was, but it had been the place where she'd grown to know her mother's best friend and found a kindred spirit in the wolf.
"It's madness, Em," Red admitted before collapsing into a chair. "Ever since you moved here, things have been going downhill. Snow and David had everything in hand at first, taking charge of business like I've never seen them before, but then last year, they had a visiting dignitary stay for a week and after that, there was just no talking sense to them. Your dad sometimes has moments where he seems almost normal, but then he becomes your mother's lap dog again and there's no getting through to him."
"She was right," the blonde muttered to herself and fell into her own chair. Seeing a questioning look on her friend's face, she elaborated, "Regina thinks that there must be someone manipulating Snow and running the kingdom into the ground to make it easier to take the throne from my family."
"And, you're sure that it's not the Evil Queen who's behind it all?" Red asked suspiciously.
Emma frowned at both the title and the persistent finger pointing. "Regina hasn't been the Evil Queen for a long time, Red. Even my mother realised that after I got married. We might not always agree on everything, but she's treated me with nothing but compassion and respect. She's my friend."
The werewolf's expression flicked from surprise to confusion. "That's not what Snow's been telling everyone lately."
"Since this dignitary's visit?" Emma suspected.
The brunette nodded in acceptance of the possibility. "Now that you mention it…"
"What has she been saying, exactly?"
Emma sat and listened while the wolf recounted all of the insidious accusations the White queen had used to paint Queen Regina's image over the last year. She explained how Snow would cry over letters supposedly sent by her daughter to complain over the sorceress' treatment of her since their marriage. She told of outright lies from the royals when it came to acknowledging the state of the economy. And confessed to being part of an underground rebellion that was desperate to overthrow the monarchy.
"Jiminy is there with Geppetto and Pinocchio; all the dwarves eventually deserted and made their way to us, and of course, Granny is with me," Red informed the blonde queen.
"What about Blu and the fairies? Haven't they tried to help?"
The wolf frowned. "They mostly disappeared after your wedding. No one knows how to get hold of them, but I don't think it would matter anyway; Snow had a huge argument with Blu after you moved here and told her not to come back."
They broke for food, eating in thoughtful silence for a time before Red found her voice again and moved on to explaining how miserable everyone had become, and not just those starving in the villages. Servants in the castle had begun to decry their positions too, but no one had any idea how to turn things around.
"I volunteered to cross the border to find you to beg you to help," the brunette justified her reason for being there – dining in comfort, while her friends were suffering. "I know you've been back a few times and I know you were trying to shake things up before you left, but there must be something else you can do, Emma. We're desperate. If the Ev… if your wife is as accommodating as you say she is, she shouldn't have a problem with it."
Emma smiled to herself and thought, my, haven't the tables turned. She spent the next couple of hours reassuring her friend that she and Regina were looking into ways to solve this problem. Every instinct she had told her that she could trust the wolf with their plans, but a small voice in the back of her mind, which sounded annoyingly like her wife's, cautioned her against giving away too much.
As the young queen left her friend to sleep off the exhaustion from her journey, she wandered back to the office to write up everything she'd learned that night, while it was still fresh in her mind. It took longer than she expected since her eyelids insisted on dragging her eyes closed every few minutes, but eventually, she blotted and closed her ledger and left to find her way to her room.
Emma didn't pay much attention to the hive of activity at first. It didn't occur to her that so many servants were not usually scuffling about the corridors this late at night, but eventually, the tense atmosphere penetrated her fuzzy haze and she reached out to stop a young man on his way past.
"What's going on?" she asked in confusion.
"You don't know, your majesty?" he startled. At her raised eyebrow and impatient expression, he hastened to elaborate. "Sir Henry has passed. The Queen – your wife is with him now."
Emma froze. Her eyes closed for a few seconds as she absorbed the terrible news, until the young man shuffled nervously beside her and asked to be dismissed. "My wife is in her father's room?" He nodded. "Yes, you may go."
She followed at her own subdued pace for a moment before her self-pitying thoughts turned to Regina and suddenly, she needed to hold the woman close, to let her know that she wasn't alone. Adrenaline kicked in to pull her back from the brink of collapse and she entered the old man's room with caution. If she hadn't felt stupid for her rash flight before, seeing Regina's shaking form slumped over the figure in the bed made her want to kick herself harder than ever.
Instinct took over and she found a spot by Henry's legs as she pulled her wife into her arms. It was surprisingly easy – the brunette seeming to want to cling to anything in that moment. Emma rocked gently and whispered soft reassurances that she expected made no sense to the sorceress at all. When she could feel her back aching and sleep pulling at her once more, she gently pulled Regina to her feet and ushered the brunette to her own room.
By the time they reached the dark queen's suite, Regina had slipped into a silent stupor. Emma continued to speak to her softly as she helped her to undress but there was little else she could do. She pulled back the covers and sank to her knees by the side of the bed as the brunette crawled inside and dragged the quilt around her shoulders. Green eyes drank in the fear and anguish that gazed back through glassy brown and Emma swore in that moment that she could see right into her wife's soul. She longed to reach out and touch some part of the grieving woman, but she wasn't sure how well her advances would be received and squeezed her fist tight where it hung by her side.
"You know where I am if you need me, Regina," she whispered and reluctantly started to stand. She wasn't sure what made her hesitate, but her inability to leave in swift fashion gave the brunette time to gather the strength to reach out and grab the hem of Emma's tunic. "Regina?"
"Don't leave me," the dark queen's gravelly voice ripped from her throat. "I don't want to be alone."
Emma didn't bother to ask her wife if she was sure. Every part of her wanted to stay anyway and knowing how difficult it was for the sorceress to ask for help in the first place, she knew that second guessing wouldn't help either of them at that moment.
"Alright," the blonde answered. "Just give me a minute," she added as she began to shed her own clothes.
Guessing which drawer held sleepwear, Emma stripped off as fast as she could without making too much noise and slipped into a nightdress. She left everything draped over the same couch she'd sat on the first night of their married life and crawled into bed beside the distraught figure. Despite the fact that they had never actually shared a bed before, Emma didn't let any of the awkward tension stop her from wrapping her arms around her wife and pulling Regina against her body. There might have been some growing attraction between them lately, but tonight wasn't about that. This was her friend. Her best friend really. And she was hurting. Emma vowed to hold her wife for as long as the gesture was welcome because even ex-Evil Queens needed to lean on someone every now and then.
As when Regina had spent the better part of a year in bed, the heavy curtains in the queen's bedroom refused to allow the early morning sunlight to penetrate and wake her. She slept through the first few hours, held securely by a pair of strong arms and feeling content in spite of the events of the night before. When she woke, it would be different. When she woke, she would remember why she had wanted Emma to stay, why she had feared being left alone – but in slumber, her mind just knew that she was safe and images of her father comforted rather than tormented.
Though usually the one who hated waking up in the morning, Emma was the first to feel the circadian rhythm of the day and blinked into consciousness. It only took a glance at the body in her arms to recall why she wasn't in her own bed and she felt tears prick the backs of her eyes as she thought about her father-in-law.
Sir Henry had welcomed her as part of his family without hesitation. He had taken her under his wing many times and comforted her in the early days of her marriage, when his daughter's temper grew wild. He'd helped her to understand this incredible woman and nurtured their relationship so that they reached this place where they could find comfort in each other.
Emma spared a thought for her own father but didn't dwell on him. She wouldn't run off any more without a solid plan in place; she couldn't afford to put that kind of strain on her relationship with her queen or her kingdom. Besides, as selfish as it was, she wanted to stay wrapped around her wife and savour this moment for as long as possible. Regina's vulnerability, which had pushed her to the point of asking for help, would not have survived the night. Emma knew that the moment her wife left sleep behind, she would throw up a new wall and all of their physical intimacy would once again become a distant dream. Perhaps she could use this time to think up ways to stop that from happening? At the very least, she could commit the dark queen's scent to memory.
As predicted, Regina froze when she woke to the feel of arms wrapped around her. Memories of the previous night punched her in the gut and she scrambled from the bed without a care for whether her companion was awake or not. She watched with conflicted feeling as Emma stretched and rolled out of the other side to pad around to the couch.
"Leave me," Regina hissed as she felt the pain of loss creeping upon her again. It was bad enough that she'd allowed herself to break down in front of other people the night before, she was damned if she would do it again in the daylight.
Emma raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Nice try. I'm going to get someone to draw you a bath."
Regina frowned. What is she up to? Does she think me so weak that I can't perform simple tasks? "Why?" she demanded, turning to the blonde with hands on her hips.
The young queen abandoned the mindless inspection of her outfit from the previous day and approached her wife. Never having had to comfort someone in mourning before, she couldn't help attempting a joke, "Because you stink?" Regina glared and she recoiled playfully. The situation was no laughing matter, but she knew the dark queen well enough to know that pity and mollycoddling were the opposite of what she needed. Finding her more serious side, she added bluntly, "Because you need it. Because you're my wife and I hope one day that you'll be kind enough to do the same for me…" Under her breath but audible, she considered Regina's reaction to her parents' demise. "… And save the celebrations for when I'm not around."
Regina managed to crack a tiny smile at the dark joke. For Emma's sake, she would summon the effort to be respectful at Snow or Charming's death, but she couldn't pretend that a part of her wouldn't be just the tiniest bit relieved to never have to see them again. The blonde's refusal to leave her to stew in her thoughts actually warmed her.
Sensing a thawing of the brunette's thoughts, Emma wrapped her hands around her wife's upper arms in what she hoped was a comforting and welcome gesture. "Regina, we've known this was coming for a while. I'm not suggesting that makes it any easier, but your father appreciated all the time we spent with him. He wasn't afraid to leave, but he did worry about you. I promised him that I wouldn't let you bury yourself behind anger and indifference. I know you think that needing people makes you look weak, but you're wrong, and I don't think any less of you for needing me last night. In fact, I needed it too; I haven't slept that well for some time."
"So, a bath?" Regina reminded the blonde.
"Yes," Emma jumped and grabbed her clothes. She hesitated for a moment, her garments in hand as she looked around for somewhere to change. The sorceress was so used to using magic to dress and undress, that she didn't bother with a screen and Emma blushed at the idea of stripping off again with the brunette watching.
Unexpectedly, a wicked smile crawled its way onto the dark queen's lips. "Problem, dear? Shall I summon a blindfold to wear?"
Green eyes narrowed and then, rising to the challenge, Emma turned her back on the brunette, ripped the nightdress over her head and began tugging her shirt on before Regina could even think to avert her gaze. By the time the blonde had her trousers laced, there was a decidedly pink tinge to the dark queen's features and Emma smirked in triumph as she sat to pull her boots on.
Once she was alone again in her room, Regina released a long breath and closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, tumbling, golden locks brushed a large expanse of pale skin and she groaned. She'll be the death of me, she thought and chuckled to herself. It was entirely inappropriate to be thinking of such things just hours after her father's death, but she could say with absolute confidence that he would have encouraged every moment of flirtation between her and Emma if he was aware of it.
"Oh, Daddy," she sighed as the situation punched her again. "I miss you so much already."
The bath did help to give her some time to think and find some balance between sorrow and regal poise. There was still so much to do and with the letter from Snow playing on her mind too, she began to regret spending so long in bed that morning. The night had helped her to release some of her angst, but it was day now and time to put a lid on 'Regina the daughter' in order to do her best job as 'Regina the Queen'. Her kingdom was facing disaster and though she had a funeral to plan on top of everything else, she didn't have the luxury of wallowing in her agony.
Emma made a mental note to order a bath for herself before the end of the day, but as she snuck out from Regina's bedroom, she sniffed discretely at herself and decided that washing wasn't the priority for what was left of the morning. Assuming that breakfast had already been served and that Red was eating her fill, the blonde made her way to the dining room to look for her friend. As expected, the wolf was hunched over her plate, tucking into breakfast meats and mostly ignoring everything else.
"Morning," Emma greeted as she took her usual seat and reached for what was left of the sausage.
"Hey," Red mumbled around the food in her mouth. She tore off a chunk of bread from the door-step slice that lay on her plate and washed it down with several swigs of milk. "You guys have so much good food," she gushed.
Concerned and a little alarmed, the blonde buttered her own bread and tried not to gawp. "When was the last time you ate before you got here?"
"The rebellion manages to keep regular supplies coming in, but rations are strict. With my metabolism, it's never enough," the brunette replied.
"Well, you don't have to stuff yourself now," Emma told her friend. "You can order food from the kitchen at any time."
That got Red's attention and she deliberately slowed her eating to regard the young queen. Remembering her manners this time, she swallowed before speaking. "It used to be like this at your mother's, didn't it?" There was a soft melancholy to her tone that was so unlike the usually upbeat wolf and it seemed to suck any joy from the air around them. "She doesn't let anyone but your dad sit at the table with her now, not unless they're rich, powerful or deadly – usually someone with a combination of those qualities."
"That is not my mother," Emma insisted and closed her eyes to give her time to control any further outburst. Losing her temper was going to get her nowhere. Remembering that her wife could be joining them soon and she'd told Regina nothing about their guest, she realised that she needed to change the topic slightly. "Red, before Regina joins us, I need to warn you." She saw a fearful frown pass over now brown eyes and realised how her words must have sounded. "My father-in-law died last night. She'll try to act like nothing has happened, but go easy on her, okay?"
The expression on the werewolf's face softened, and now that she wasn't stuffing herself with food, she could study Emma. Instinctively, she leant closer to her friend and sniffed. "You smell like her," she observed curiously.
Emma smelled herself again but couldn't detect anything unusual – except perhaps the lingering scent of horse on her clothes. She knew that Red's heightened senses would find things that she couldn't though. "I stayed with her last night."
"Is that unusual?" the wolf wondered aloud, her expression becoming more quizzical, bordering on teasing.
The queen blushed at the implication, and at the realisation that she would very much like to spend more nights like the last. She hadn't been lying when she'd told Regina that she'd slept better than ever with the brunette next to her. "You want to know how often I spend the night in my wife's bed?" she asked with false bravado.
"All I hear these days are resistance plans and death tolls," Red grumbled. "It would be nice to get a bit of gossip with my breakfast."
"Sorry to disappoint," Emma responded. "But when it comes to intimate moments with Regina, I don't like to share."
"Possessive," the brunette chuckled.
"Can you blame me?" Emma smirked. "Have you seen my wife?" It was rare that she had a chance to share how she felt about being married to the ex-Evil Queen. In fact, other than Sir Henry, she had never spoken to anyone about how much she really cared for the dark sorceress. This realisation wiped all sign of playfulness from her expression; she was never going to have that opportunity again.
As the blonde had half expected, Regina was a no-show at breakfast. Emma put aside some fruit, bread and cheese to take up to the office, but didn't think her wife would touch much of it. Despite enjoying the company of her visitor, she missed the physical closeness of the dark queen. Her heart and head were still torn between Regina's loss, her father's kidnapping, the kingdom's wellbeing and her mother's insanity, but after such a peaceful night, her body craved that contact and reminded her of it constantly.
She guided Red to the room where she and Regina normally met with visiting dignitaries for business. Red frowned at her when Emma insisted that she sit and wait, but in the end, the wolf shrugged and did as she was told. The blonde swallowed the awkwardness that she felt; three years was bound to change their relationship, but asserting her position as queen was not something she'd anticipated having to do. If it hadn't been for the fact that she knew Regina would lecture her about etiquette, she probably would have given in to the hang-dog look and allowed the wolf straight into their inner sanctum; it was only out of consideration for Regina that she felt able to do it.
"I brought something for you to nibble on, if you feel up to it," Emma told her wife as she entered their shared work space.
Regina glanced up from her desk and made a face at the plate of food. Her gaze wandered up to compassionate green and marvelled at the depth of emotion there; being cared for was something that she still found hard to understand. She rolled her eyes and gestured for the blonde to place the offering beside her. Unenthusiastically, she began to pick at it.
"Happy?" the sorceress grumbled as she masticated a small lump of cheese.
Emma offered a gentle smile and nodded. "I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to eat. I just want you to look after yourself."
Regina appreciated the sentiment and regarded her wife with a fond expression. Her stomach was in knots and the idea of putting anything in there made her feel nauseated, but she wasn't going to allow herself to be anything less than her best. "As much as I don't feel like it at the moment, if I don't eat, the work suffers, so thank you."
"Any time you need anything, let me know and I'll do my best to get it for you," Emma replied with a blush. She wasn't sure what was making her so accommodating, but taking care of Regina just felt right. Catching a tolerant eye-roll though, she decided that she'd pushed enough for one morning. "I'm sorry for running off yesterday. It was stupid. I didn't appreciate how fast things would change after a declaration of war."
Cunning, brown eyes shot up from the paperwork on the desk and stared at Emma. "Something happened," Regina concluded rightly. A pounding, cloying fear clawed at her chest. Abandoning her food and chair, the dark queen shot up and walked the width of the room with agitated steps. She immediately began to imagine the worst. "Yes, you were stupid, and selfish. Do you have any idea what would have happened had you been killed out there?"
Emma's first instinct was to argue back, but this time, her better judgement prevailed. How would Regina have coped with the death of her father and her wife in the same night? She winced internally. "I'm sorry. I promise, no more half-strung rescue attempts."
The brunette's eyebrow arched in disbelief, but she seemed to accept the sincerity in green eyes. "So, just fully-strung rescue attempts then?"
The blonde shrugged sheepishly before deciding to move the topic along. "Something did happen. After coming to my senses and turning back, we came across an old friend of mine. She was being chased by a hoard of… something. I've left Red in the conference room; I thought you might like to talk to her with me?"
This piece of information pulled the brunette's expression back into a frown. "You trust her? Wasn't she your mother's best friend?"
"Yes and yes. Just listen to what she has to say. It sounds like she has contacts who will be very useful to us if we can convince them that we can work together."
The sorceress nodded and popped a grape into her mouth before heading toward the door. They entered the conference room and found the wolf pacing. Amber eyes locked in on the ex-Evil Queen and narrowed as they absorbed her toned-down appearance. Very few people from Snow's kingdom had seen the witch since her repeated attacks on the White Queen. Most recalled the elaborate hairdos, dark fabrics, decadent jewellery, plunging necklines and warning sneers. Snow White's recent outcries against the once-feared queen had done nothing to dissuade the people of the evil image they remembered, but as the wolf looked over the powerful monarch now, she saw little of the former terror.
"Red…" Regina began as she gave the tall brunette her own appraisal. "I hope you're house-trained. We generally don't let animals into the meeting room," she goaded with a smirk.
Emma hid her amusement with a smack to her wife's shoulder. "Be nice!" she warned and bit back her smile.
Regina noticed the tightening gaze across the room and knew that she was being sized up. Enjoying the playful slap for the brief physical contact that she'd grown to need, she chuckled at her wife's reaction and stalked the length of the room to stand before their guest. Playing on the reputation of her former persona was entertaining enough to bring some temporary relief from the events of the previous evening and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. "Oh, I'll do better than nice, dear. So, Red," she began again, cutting right to the chase. "What exactly do you think you can contribute to our little operation?"
Red's cautious gaze flicked to Emma for reassurance before settling back on the shorter brunette. "Snow's kingdom has suffered for too long. First at your hands and now this."
"I take it, the years of poverty in between were enjoyed by all," Regina shot back.
"The people loved her and she loved them," the wolf countered, knowing that the dark queen had tried in vain to make the people love her.
Regina heard the insult and switched her tone from provoking to hostile. "I'm sure that must have been of great comfort to the mothers of starving children."
"Ladies!" Emma interrupted, sensing the impending conflict. "I think we're getting off track," she suggested calmly. "Red, you were going to tell us how you can help us, to help you."
The two brunettes glared at each other for a moment, both feeling the sting of old memories, but at last, the visitor relented. "Many of Snow's people are too weak or cowed to offer any resistance against the bandits and bullies who plague her lands, but for those who have nothing left to lose, they've managed to band together to form a small army along the far border, where the forest thins out and there's nothing but mountains and then desert. We've had a few successful raids but the situation is getting worse and there just aren't enough of us to make a difference." She sighed, all energy appearing to drain out of her. "They sent me to find you, Emma. To beg our princess to help." She tried to gage the witch's thoughts from her expression but had little luck. She turned her gaze on the blonde then, looking every bit as desperate as she sounded. "Emma, the people are willing to swear their allegiance to you if you can free them from Snow's grip."
Blonde eyebrows rose with surprise. "Even knowing who I'm married to?"
The wolf glanced between the two queens and hesitated. On her arrival, she had assumed that Emma's attentiveness to Regina's wishes was an ingrained, submissive trait developed over three years of marriage, but the way the two each came to the other's defence, she was less sure. Knowing her friend's innate ability to sense lies, it seemed she had little option but to be honest anyhow. "I think they assume that you will be glad of the opportunity to escape the Evil Queen's clutches."
The sorceress scoffed with disgust but tempered her outburst when she felt a placating hand on her arm. Emma stood tall beside her spouse; her body language protective. She thought that her conversation with her friend the evening before had made her position clear, but the wolf apparently hadn't believed her. "This is my home. Regina is my wife, and my friend; I won't leave her."
Red thought about this and her expression contorted. "I don't know if they will accept the Evil Queen as their sovereign."
Regina rolled her eyes and moved away to gather her thoughts. Did it really matter if they still saw her for her evil counterpart? The power she'd yielded through fear was still a part of her and she had made a sort-of promise to herself not to regret the darkness she'd walked through to get to where she was now. With a sigh, she turned back to the wolf. "Whether they accept me as their queen or not is of little consequence," she started to explain. "What they need is a monarch who cares for their well-being and has the means to follow through. They already have the former; Emma and I can help with the latter."
"What do you mean?" Red asked in confusion.
Emma read between the lines though and knew what her wife meant. "It's like I said before, the woman on the White throne is not my mother. Snow White would never do this to her people and she needs saving as much as anyone else."
"If we can restore Snow to her former, annoyingly chipper self, her people will have their queen back and Emma can help to bring back order while the kingdom recovers." She sighed and leant her hands against the edge of the table. "They need not know that I have any hand in their affairs."
The tall brunette considered the proposal as she tried to find some hint of deception behind the words. When she couldn't find a downside, she sank into a chair at the table. "You mean, you would help Emma to bring Snow back into power?" she asked doubtfully.
"If Emma's not happy, I'm not happy," the dark queen admitted reluctantly. "She would not be happy with a job half done. If it suits your opinion of me better though, imagine that I merely anticipate the day when the White line is no more and the entire kingdom is mine."
"That's right," Red suddenly realised. "You're immortal. You could have planned all this to bring Snow down!"
Emma looked horrified at the accusation and jumped to defend her wife, but stopped at the chuckled that came from Regina.
"Yes, I could have," the sorceress acknowledged happily. "Don't think that it didn't occur to me after I made the deal for Emma's hand. My wife is the sole heir to Snow's kingdom and as it stands, I will outlive her. This time, there will be no disputing to whom the kingdom belongs."
The blonde frowned. This was exactly what Snow and her people would think when they heard that the Evil Queen was involved in their revolution. She didn't like the thought of anyone assuming the worst of Regina and wondered for the first time if encouraging the dark queen to help was the smartest thing to do. The last thing she wanted was for her wife to be in the line of fire.
"You admit it so freely?" Red wondered aloud. She was confused by the confession. Surely the Evil Queen would not be so open with her scheming.
"Yes, I admit that I considered it. It is still something that crosses my mind from time to time. Unless Emma and I have children of our own, it is inevitable, but it is hardly something that fills me with joy. No longer at least." She sighed deeply. "I just lost my father. I do not relish the thought of living to see everyone I care about die. Contrary to popular belief, I am not heartless."
"Ok, I believe you," the wolf decided at last. "It will take some time to convince the others though."
"Time is something we have precious little of," Regina noted calmly.
Emma's demeanour was not quite so placid though. "We have to find a way to get to my father. Whoever is behind Snow's fall from grace is using him as a way to fuel this war. We cannot allow it to gain momentum."
The wolf nodded thoughtfully. "You mentioned that last night. Do you really have no idea who is behind all this?"
Emma shook her head but caught her wife's thoughtful frown from the corner of her eye. "What is it?"
Regina faltered, knowing that once she said the words out loud, the possibility would feel so much more real to her. "I think I may know. I might be wrong – it could be someone unheard of, but my gut tells me otherwise." At the feel of two pairs of eyes boring into her, she relented. "All of this, it reeks of my mother's influence."
"Your mother?" the taller brunette gaped. "Is she immortal too?"
Emma's reaction was much more heartfelt than her friend's. Her soulful gaze fell on her wife with confusion swirling in their depths. "Why haven't you mentioned this before?" she all but whispered.
Regina instinctively moved closer to the blonde and placed a hand hesitantly on her arm. "I didn't want it to be her and I had reason to believe that she was dead." She maintained eye contact in the hope that Emma would believe that her motivation was not to keep secrets or hide information from her. She desperately needed her wife to know that she simply hadn't wanted to muddy the issue with falsehoods. "I saw her body and mourned her years ago." She sighed and, feeling a headache coming on, rubbed at her temples with both hands. "The more that I think about it though… it's not unlikely that she played me for a fool and thwarted my assassin."
"Your assassin?" Red asked, astonished. "You wanted to kill your own mother?"
"If you had met her, you wouldn't find that thought so reprehensible," the dark queen assured the visitor. "I can't say for certain that it's her, but I can no longer ignore the feeling of dread that I have."
With that thought hanging over their heads, knowing that they would probably be holed up for a few hours yet, Emma left briefly to make arrangements with the kitchen for lunch. When she returned, the three talked in circles about the state of things on both sides of the border, until they were all hoarse. By the time they felt they'd learned everything they could from each other, they were still very aware that this was only the beginning.
Their advisors and state leaders began to arrive at the castle shortly after midday. The declaration of war from Snow had made its way around the kingdom and they all wanted to know what the two queens were planning to do to answer the threat. It had taken years, but Regina had rid her kingdom of anyone who smelled even slightly of corruption – that included every man who had worked for her late husband. The bunch she was left with might not have the stoutest hearts or strongest stomachs, but they were as loyal as politicians were likely to be and followed orders well. They were clever enough to use their initiative when it was needed and not stupid enough to risk betraying their queen's trust. They would see that their lands were fortified and their people prepared. Until the queens knew what they were really up against, there was little else they could do but keep their ears to the ground.
The dark sorceress repeated the instructions she'd given to her people in Queen's Rest. With a rebellion flanking Snow's land, there might be more crossings than she'd first anticipated and the more they could help the White queen's subjects, the better their rapport would be with the rebels. Once all of the details were hammered out and nervous minds were soothed and reassured, she turned to the subject of King David.
"Snow has defended her declaration of war by suggesting that we captured her husband and have him in our dungeon. This is a falsehood. We have reason to believe that he may have been taken to King George's castle so that the finger of blame could be pointed at us… At me mostly," she added under her breath. "Finding my father-in-law is a priority, but we cannot simply storm George's castle; he will deny all knowledge and we might never know where they hide David next."
"If he's there at all," one of the men piped up and received a grim but acknowledging nod from the blonde queen.
Regina nodded too, her eyes straying to Emma's for a brief moment, knowing how difficult she must be finding this situation. She spared a thought for her own father, remembering for a moment the agonising year when he'd been a prisoner in Wonderland. "With news of war being whispered in everyone's ear, it would not be unusual for one monarch to visit another in the hope of gaining allies. I propose that my wife and I pay George a visit and see what we can glean."
This plan was welcomed all round. Promises were made to keep everyone informed of their progress before the meeting was finally brought to an end and the queens were left to their own devices for the remainder of the afternoon. Regina excused herself to return to the funeral plans for Sir Henry, refusing any offer of help from her wife.
Since Red had taken herself off for a run around the castle's perimeter, arguing that she had the best senses and would notice anything threatening before any of the guards, no matter how well trained they were, the blonde was running low on distractions. Emma suspected that the wolf just needed to be out in the fresh air after being trapped inside all day. She didn't blame her. The young queen was tempted to go for a wander too, but she knew that it was a bad idea. Not desiring anyone else's company except Regina's, Emma assigned herself to the battlements, where it was relatively quiet.
The watch was on high alert, their eyes barely straying from the horizon to acknowledge their queen before they were scanning again for signs of attack. Captain Briggs and Lieutenant Fowler had changed up the rotation so that each watch served only a two-hour shift before being relieved for other duties, food or sleep. Where in times of peace, when Emma might catch a couple of guards passing the time in conversation, they were not nearly so relaxed now and the queen worried for the coming days. If they were kept at high alert for too long, their performance would begin to suffer – it was to be expected. She made a mental note to insist that each shift be allowed time for recreation at least once a week. Something to distract their minds from thoughts of battle in the hope that it would prevent complacency from setting in.
Knowing that these measures could only be temporary, Emma turned her thoughts to her mother. Snow was in just as much, if not more trouble than her father. Whatever dark force had gripped the White queen; Emma knew that it wouldn't easily let go. She wanted to talk to her mother, to confront Snow White and demand answers, to cry and beg for an end to this conflict, but neither approach would do any good while her mother was not herself.
Emma longed for those moments when she could count on her mother to wrap her up in a warm hug and keep the world at bay for a while; when they could laugh over something silly or hide themselves away somewhere and eat stolen treats from the kitchen. Even the elaborate balls and poufy dresses held a semblance of nostalgia at a time like this.
She remembered the last real mother-daughter conversation they'd had, shortly after her wedding. Snow had expressed her relief that she and Regina had made such a promising start to their marriage and had even gone so far as to tease the blonde about grandchildren. There had been no hint then of resentment, and Snow had encouraged her to visit as often as she could, but on her subsequent trips to her childhood home, the mood had changed. Perhaps Emma should have seen the warning signs then, but between the worsening state of her parents' kingdom and her wife's refusal to listen to anything related to Snow White, she'd been caught between a rock and a hard place – any writing on the wall had passed by unnoticed.
Stars dotted the sky and twinkled, decorating the dark canvas of night by the time Emma made her way back inside. She was too weary even to eat and made her way to her room, where she crawled into bed and tried in vain to sleep. Moonlit shadows crept silently across the room as the minutes turned into hours and slumber continued to elude her. It wasn't until she was on the verge of tears, her frustration and exhaustion working together to drive her mad, that she gave up and rolled out of bed.
Drawing on her robe, she hesitated at the door before deciding that rest was more important than the risk of rejection and left her room. Down the corridor, she trod with tentative determination until she arrived at Regina's door and knocked softly. She hoped that the sound was loud enough to be heard by someone as wakeful as her, but quiet enough not to disturb someone already deep into dreamland. Mostly though, she hoped that she wouldn't have to spend the rest of the night alone with only her tormenting thoughts for company.
After a minute, she tried again, giving herself a limit of three knocks before she would resign herself to a sleepless night. Her second attempt convinced the occupant that she was not hearing things however and the door creaked open enough to reveal Regina in her nightdress.
The dark queen frowned at her visitor, but stepped aside immediately as she recognised the blonde. "Emma? What's wrong?"
Emma took one shaky breath before a tear rolled down her cheek and half a dozen more joined it. "I… I…" she tried to explain herself but her thoughts were in a whirlwind and all of her worries crashed into one another, catching her throat in a vice-like grip. Was it Regina's voice that had set her off, or simply the presence of someone she trusted so implicitly? Whatever the reason, she fell on her wife and held on like the brunette was a life-raft, saving her from drowning in her fears.
For her part, Regina simply wrapped her arms around the blonde's torso and rubbed her hands across the plain of a soft yet muscular back. She had an inkling of what had driven the young queen to her room, but hardly cared at that moment, so long as Emma was there. She hadn't even bothered getting into bed, knowing how unlikely it was that sleep would claim her, so she had sat at her desk and plotted out numerous scenarios that might help them in the coming days. She knew that she needed rest now more than ever, but it didn't come easily to her at the best of times. Only twenty-four hours had passed since her father had left this world for good and without Emma's comforting presence, she'd chosen to at least preserve her sanity by doing something useful.
Now, it seemed that she didn't have to worry about being alone tonight. The shame she'd woken with that morning faded the longer she held her wife, soothing the sobs which wracked the taller body. They could be this for each other, she realised abruptly. Sir Henry had always been the person she turned to when she absolutely couldn't hold the tears back any longer, but who had Emma sought for comfort? There was something selfish in the way her body swayed with Emma's and sank into its warmth. She didn't bother to ask for an explanation – that could wait until morning – but she steered them towards the bed instead and, without a word, pulled the blonde under the covers where they spent an awkward moment positioning themselves.
Almost as soon as the head of blonde hair hit the pillow, Emma felt all energy leave her body and fell into unconsciousness. Her limbs became dead weights – the arm which she'd thrown across her wife's body, pinning the dark queen into place.
Regina smiled in contentment and wriggled slightly to push back into the blonde's frame.