Some time later, still completely naked, Regina woke to find Emma nestled in her lap and sleeping. The tapping which had woken her persisted, and it took Regina a moment to remember where they were. Gently brushing some hair away from Emma's eyes she planted a kiss on the blonde's forehead and then whispered for her to wake up. Emma sighed and opened one eye to peer up at her.
"Five more minutes."
"Only if you don't mind Red seeing you like this," Regina teased her. "She's been knocking for a while."
"Oh, okay then," Emma opened her other eye and stretched her arms out as far as the cramped space would allow.
Regina waited until Emma was sitting on the seat before snapping her fingers and re-clothing them both. She checked her appearance in a small mirror before reaching out to open the door for Red.
"About time, what were you..." Red froze in the doorway, nostrils flared, "never mind."
Emma quickly reached out to open the curtains and allow some fresh air into the carriage, remembering Red's super-senses. The brunette finally climbed inside and sat down opposite Emma and Regina.
"Report," Regina commanded. "Who were the men claiming to be Emma's friends?"
Red gave Emma an apologetic look before facing Regina, completely serious, "one was an old ally of Snows, I recognised Pinocchio's scent even though he has been gone as long as the princess. His father said he was lost during the confusion of the princesses disappearance and as far as I know he should be a child but now he is a grown man. The other claims never to have met either you or Snow and I've never met him before."
"Emma says they think she is the lost princess. Of course that is ridiculous."
"I never saw the princess, but if Pinocchio has aged in this other land then..."
"You believe them?"
"Their tale was very convincing, they say they have proof and Pinocchio's nose didn't grow while telling it, so..."
"What proof? The man might have found a magical way to allow him to lie, if he really is Pinocchio."
"They have the princesses blanket, with her name on it. I know my granny knitted one during Snows pregnancy, but I never saw it. It has Emma's scent on it, but if it's been too long or washed too often to still have Granny's. We could take the blanket to her for confirmation, or we could just let Emma prove them right or wrong."
"How?" Emma asked, "I don't know the counter-spell to wake Snow and Charming."
"They wouldn't have expected their child to have magic, the way to wake them is much simpler," Regina confessed. "But it can only be done by the true princess."
"How?"
Regina grimaced, "True Love's Kiss."
Emma raised an eyebrow, "that part of their story was true? A kiss can break a curse that magic can't?"
"Well in theory it's the magic of love and not kissing, but the spell is one I borrowed so if you want those kind of answers you'd need to speak to Mal."
"Maybe that's what we should do. Or maybe we should ask Red's Granny about the blanket," Emma suggested.
"Don't be scared Emma," Red tried to reassure her.
"You want me to kiss two people I've never met before, in case they're my parents. I'd really like a little more proof before that."
Regina squeezed Emma's hand, "I'm here for you, whatever happens."
"I don't want to be the lost princess," Emma whispered, leaning towards Regina and pressing her face into Regina's hair.
"Running away now won't change the truth."
"But what if I don't love them enough to break the spell? I don't know them, and if they're really my parents they sent me away on my own when I was just a baby. What if those emotions stop it from working?"
"There's only one way to find out. If it doesn't work we'll check with Granny, once you know the truth and learn more about them you'll start to love them, I know you will," Red assured her.
"And what if they do wake up? Regina, will you still be Queen? Doesn't it bother you that they might want the kingdom back?"
"I'm not worried about Regina," Red interjected before Regina could answer, "it's what Cora will say when she finds out."
"I can deal with my mother."
Red raised an eyebrow, "really? And if she tried to harm Snow and Charming?"
"You see!" Emma lifted her face to look into Regina's eyes, "it's a bad idea. Your mother will be so angry..."
"I won't let any harm come to you Emma."
"No, it's not your decision to make, it's mine. I won't do it. My parents abandoned me and I'm not going to do anything to prove who they are. I'm finally happy with my life, I have you and I'm not going to screw it up for some fairy tale nonsense. We're going home and we're going to live our lives for us and no-one else because that will be our happily ever after."
Emma kissed her then, putting all of her love into the kiss, determined not to think about anything else. Regina kissed her back, just as fiercely, refusing to believe that this woman could be related to Snow or Charming. Only Red's subtle cough made them break the kiss, suddenly reminding them that they weren't alone.
"I love you Regina," Emma confessed, taking hold of the Queen's hands. "The past is done, we need to look to the future. Just you and me. Nothing else matters."
"Then help to put this behind us by proving it's a lie."
Emma released Regina's hands, "you don't understand."
"Red, I think we need a little more time alone."
"I'll check on the horses," Red agreed, quickly slipping out of the carriage.
Once she was gone Regina studied Emma's face, wishing the blonde would look at her, "talk to me Emma. Are you afraid to find out the truth because deep down you're holding on to the hope that you've really found your parents? Or..."
"I don't want to lose you, okay? I don't care about them, or what your mother will do. I know how much it hurt you when they were alive and everyone says how much you've changed..."
Regina laughed, "I only started to change after you arrived Emma, and even now I have to be a strong Queen towards anyone outside of the palace."
"And if Snow came back? If it turns out I'm related to the woman you hate most in the whole world? Would you still want to be with me? Let me into your bed?"
"I..."
"And if she wanted to rule, would you give up the throne and stop your mother from taking it back for you?"
"I never wanted to rule!"
"Tell me how waking them would make everything better? Give me one good reason why I should ruin everything."
"Because it's the right thing to do and because I want you to be happy. You came here, despite thinking your friends were crazy, because you wanted to find your parents more than anything else."
"That's not enough for me anymore."
"I don't know what else I can say to convince you..."
"Promise me nothing will change between us. That if I wake them you and I can still be together, even if we have to leave and go far away."
"You know how I feel about you Emma."
"Then you know why I don't want to lose that."
Regina looked down at her hands, "Snow might not approve, she might tell you things about me that make you hate me. If I'm willing to risk that, because I believe in you, why can't you do the same for me?" She slipped a ring off her finger, "when Daniel... proposed to me he didn't have a ring, because it was all so rushed. I've been holding on to this for a while now. I saw it at a jewellers not long after Snow's father died and I told myself that if I ever fell in love again I would take my time, find the perfect moment to offer it to someone."
Emma let out a soft gasp as Regina held the ring out to her, "are you sure?"
"You just told me you want us to live happily ever after, that sounded like a proposal to me."
"Then shouldn't I be giving you a ring?"
"Take this one, as my promise to you, go back to the cave and when you return we'll figure the rest out together."
Emma watched as Regina slipped the ring over her finger, it was a simple gold band but it made her heart swell to see it.
"No matter what the future holds for us, I'll never take it off," she promised.
"Now go, and hurry back to me," Regina ordered her.
Emma gave her a brief kiss, "to be continued," she grinned as she reached for the carriage door.
"I love you Emma," Regina admitted.
"I love you too."