During the day whilst the queens' retinue attended to her Emma went to the training grounds to hone her fighting skills. She enjoyed it there; there was something satisfying about the physical exertion, especially when she won a bout that inevitably occurred. It also made her tired which allowed her a more peaceful sleep. Her days went on like this for a while, sleeping in the queens chambers and 'guarding' her during her private time. Emma didn't mind that she rarely had time for herself, it's not like she had anything else to do and being in Regina's company was being with a friend, even if the queen pretended otherwise.

She was quick to learn how to handle a whole variety of weapons and techniques, she enjoyed them and it gave her a glow radiating from her heart at the thought of having the ability to protect her queen. She still had many restless nights though as she became increasingly aware of her affections towards the queen spiralling out of control, Regina noticed how restless Emma was and how she often seemed to be tired throughout the day. At first Regina had attributed the tiredness to Emma's intensive training but if that were the case then she should be sleeping deeply every night, especially those nights when Regina didn't wake her with her nightmares.

It almost consumed the queen, the worry, no the curiosity she had for the blondes predicament. No she wasn't worried or concerned, she didn't do that kind of emotion, but then she didn't do a lot of emotions that since the blondes' arrival could have been mistakenly spotted. Not that she had actually felt those emotions.

"Sleep." Regina finally commanded when Emma was in her chamber and the queen was busy filling out paperwork, one of the more pesky parts of ruling a kingdom. Emma shook her said, telling the queen that she was fine. Regina turned and raised a sceptical eyebrow at the blonde.

"Really I'm not tired."

"Yes you are Emma." Regina stood and cupped a gentle hand around Emma's check looking deeply into her eyes. The blonde tensed slightly at the physical contact. "What is it that keeps you awake at night? And don't lie; I know you stay awake half the night." Emma tried to look away but Regina turned her chin so that she was still looking at her.

"Just, some things I've got on my mind."

"Come, come, you can tell me." Emma's face reddened and she tried to shake her head out of the queens grasp but Regina wouldn't let her. "The King raped me Emma." Regina said quietly, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes but she never let them wander of Emma and she watched as Emma's eyes filled with rage and her hands clutched tightly at her biceps. "Tell me, please." The foreign word now came easily to Regina's lips, but only when it was directed at Emma.

"My… emotions." Emma muttered

"You miss your parents?"

"No. I'm just, no it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. If it matters enough to keep you up at night it keeps me up at night."

"I'm just a bit muddled, that's all."

"About what?" Regina breathed; Emma shivered and averted her eyes a little before answering honestly.

"You." It was barely audible but in the quiet of her bed chambers the queen heard her response and was too shocked by it to stop the blonde breaking free of her grasp and hurtling out of the room.

Regina sighed heavily as she watched the blondes fast retreating back. She sat heavily at her desk and rested her head in her hands trying to process this information as well as how she felt about it. Usually she felt a malicious satisfaction knowing that she could use this person to her benefit but now she found that she didn't want to use Emma. It wasn't that she didn't want to bed her, because Regina knew she most definitely did, it's just that she didn't find the idea of using her and throwing her away like a broken toy pleasing.

It didn't take long to locate Emma through her mirror but it did take a while for Regina to get to her as she found herself bracing herself as she looked at the image in the mirror.