Red hovered in the background, standing between Emma and the dwarves. There had been a lot of grumbling before Red disarmed the one named Grumpy, and Emma could still hear him muttering to himself about letting them try such foolish nonsense. She looked down at the pale face of Snow White and tried to find some features that she shared with the once-Queen.
"Get on with it," Grumpy called out, eyeing his axe which was still in Red's hand.
Emma took hold of the now-open glass coffin, leaning over the sleeping woman in front of her. She could feel her ring press against her finger and she looked down at it, remembering Regina giving it to her. Regina was waiting for her outside, all she had to do was kiss this strange woman on the forehead and then she'd be free to leave.
"Please don't wake up," she whispered, wishing she could just go to the woman she loved.
Emma placed her lips against Snow's cool skin and quickly backed away. Red moved towards her, but Emma didn't want to see if the strangers eyes opened, if she gasped in her first breath of air as she woke. She ran towards the exit, pushing past Neal and August. She almost made it.
"Emma!"
Red's frantic voice made her glance over her shoulder, just for a second. Her legs buckled as she realised the sleeping woman was sitting up, staring at her. Emma's hands collided with the cave wall as she stumbled, the rock cutting painfully into her skin. She managed to stay upright, managed to force oxygen into her lungs.
Turning slowly, propped up against the wall, she looked back. Red's arm was around Snow White's shoulder, holding the other woman up.
"No!"
Emma wanted to cry. She wanted to scream that it wasn't possible. She wanted to beat her hands against the walls of the cave until the rocks crumbled.
Snow stared at her with wide eyes and an open mouth, trying to speak. Emma took one last look at her and ran.
She went past the carriage, into the forest, breaking through the greenery with no particular direction in mind. Ignoring the pain in her hands she pushed branches out of her way and used them to steady her as the terrain sloped downwards.
She lost her balance as she reached a river, sliding in the mud and landing on her knees. There Emma broke down in tears, too many conflicting emotions to hold back any longer. She curled up into a ball, bringing her hands close to her chest as if to protect them. When she had worn herself out crying, she fell asleep, unaware of the voices calling her name.
As she woke, Emma looked down at the ring on her finger and turned it round and around wishing she knew Regina's reaction to the events which had unfolded. She could hear her name still being called, so she knew she hadn't been asleep long. The voices belonged to Neal and August, Red would have been able to find her quickly.
Getting shakily to her feet, Emma looked down at the mud stains on her clothes and shook her head. She never had these problems living in cities back home. Thanks to Red's training she was able to retrace her steps and by the time she reached the carriage she could no longer hear her old friends. The ring on her finger grew warm as she placed a hand on the carriage door, so Emma took her hand away and knocked instead of opening it.
"Come in Emma," Regna's voice was formal, lacking the warmth from their earlier conversation.
Emma opened the door and hovered on the step. She looked inside and realised Regina was no longer alone. Snow White was sitting opposite her, hands folded in her lap, smiling.
"Take a seat," Regina told her, without indicating where, so Emma chose to sit next to her.
"My daughter, my little Emma," Snow held out her hands, "it feels like I just held you in my arms as a baby and now you're all grown up."
Emma kept her hands on the edge of her seat, "uh huh."
"Snow was able to wake Charming with True Loves Kiss," Regina informed her, "so you won't need to return to the cave. Red is taking a walk with him while Snow and I speak."
"Would you like some privacy?" Emma asked.
Snow laughed, "of course not, I've been waiting all this time to see you and we're discussing the future of the Kingdom. As a Princess it affects you too."
"Do I have to be a Princess?"
Snow looked surprised, "why wouldn't you want to be a Princess?"
"It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, in all the stories I heard about this world growing up the Princesses have terrible lives - attempted murders, curses... it made my childhood seem more bearable at times, being ordinary, just a nobody."
"But you've always been a Princess, from the moment you were born."
"No, since you sent me away I've been an orphan, without a family, without anyone to care about me. I've learnt to look after myself."
"We had to do that, to protect you."
"Really? Sending a baby into the middle of nowhere, on her own, is protecting her?" Emma tightened her grip on her seat, "I could have died before anyone found me."
"We were supposed to go together, but you were born too soon."
"That's not my fault. August had time to go through, so that means you did too."
"I never meant to imply that it was your fault. We made the wrong choice, we thought the curse was coming and we panicked."
"And you chose to be cursed so you wouldn't have to deal with your mistake. You put Regina in charge, so that means you're no longer Queen and I'm not a Princess."
Regina placed a hand on Emma's shoulder, "that's what we were just talking about when you returned."
"She shouldn't get to take the Kingdom back, just because she's awake. She abandoned her rule, the same way she abandoned me, and you're doing a good job."
"I always knew the role wasn't meant to be permanent. I never wanted the crown, remember?"
"But the Kingdom is flourishing, everyone knows that. You've arranged more treaties and trade deals than the last dozen or so Kings."
"I had help."
"Your mother, and how do you think she's going to react?" .
"That's why we're here, planning it now before she has a chance."
Emma folded her arms, "okay."
"I can see you've gotten along well since Emma's return," Snow noted, sounding a little jealous.
"Emma is employed as one of my guards. There was a little misunderstanding when she arrived..."
Emma snorted in amusement at the word 'misunderstanding'.
"So you've seen the palace?" Snow asked.
"Yes."
"Red has been training her as a guard and I have been teaching her magic."
"Magic?"
"Yes, Emma has magic."
"Is that a problem?" Emma challenged her.
"Of course not, I don't think we had anyone with magic in my family for generations, at least not in the direct line of succession. It's possible you inherited it from your fathers side of the family. So you and Regina are close?" I'm so pleased, before we went to sleep we had some time to go over a lot of our old issues and I want us to all be friends."
"Actually," Emma began.
"We can discuss that later," Regina interrupted, "the important thing is transferring the crown back to you. There will be a lot of catching up for you to do, and we'll need to notify our allies of your return. I'm sure the trade agreements will stand, and you'll want an official ceremony to take over."
"Actually, I thought it would be nice if we could take some time to spend with Emma. To get to know her and for her to get to know us. Perhaps the old cottage in the forest, away from everyone. Charming and I discussed it and we've missed so much already. We could keep our return a secret, only letting the other dwarves know, because Grumpy is such an old gossip he'd tell them anyway."
"No," Emma shook her head, "I'm staying with Regina. She needs me and I took an oath, to protect her."
"You don't mind, do you Regina?"
Emma looked at the Queen, silently pleading with her to refuse Snow's request.
"Emma isn't overly fond of the woods, she grew up in a world vastly different from ours and wouldn't appreciate the kind of experience you're offering. Why not come back to the palace, I can cast illusion charms on you and Charming, then you can stay close to Emma."
"Very well, but your mother will see through them."
"I'll ask Mal to strengthen them."
"Maleficent?"
"Do you know her?" Emma asked, feigning innocence, "she's lovely, isn't she."
"You know her?"
"Of course, she's been very kind to me."
Snow looked a little paler than usual, "I suppose we have been gone a while, things were bound to change."
"You have no idea," Regina muttered.