A/N: Thank you everyone to your great responses to the last chapter. I would like to take a moment to explain to you Snow and James behaviour in case it was puzzling you. Snow and James want safety for their kingdom above all else, the easiest way to protect themselves from the Evil Queen is by having someone in power, like Fredrick. That's why they want him to win. Also if he won they could get Emma back without repercussions from the Queen that might lead to their kingdom or Emma suffering. They cannot see why Emma prefers the dark kingdom and don't see what they did to drive her away. I hope that makes it clear as a lot of people were asking. Thank you everyone, much love X
"But what Snow?" Regina snarled.
"She is our daughter."
"Don't you believe you forfeited that right when you made her run away? And still you don't learn as you try to force me into an understanding with your brute of a knight."
"We did not force her away. We did nothing wrong." Snow defended. Regina got to her feet and menacingly paced toward Snow, making sure every syllable of her speech was heard by all.
"Your daughter left you. You tried to force her into loveless marriages because you couldn't accept who she truly was. You forced her to abandon the thing she loved the most and denied her her wishes at every turn. Tell me Queen Snow how exactly did you encourage her to stay?"
"SHE IS A PRINCESS. I DID WHAT ANY QUEEN WOULD DO!" Snow shouted, so Regina responded in kind.
"SHE DESERVES LOVE JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE! SHE DESERVES TO BE TREATED EQUALLY IN HER HOME COUNTRY! DO NOT PREACH TRUE LOVE SNOW WHEN YOU DENY YOUR OWN FLESH THAT RIGHT!" The other royals looked concerned and confused by the Queen's out burst, wondering exactly what she was accusing the White Queen of.
"We gave her no leave to enter this tournament, and you have kidnapped our princess. She cannot be declared champion." James argued. Regina made her way back to her throne.
"Did she not beat all the other champions?" Murmurs of agreement filled the room. "Did she not prove herself worthy of the title?" More murmurs. "In that case I can see no issue."
"I demand you return our heir. You had no right entering her." James countered.
"I had every right. She made an oath to me, an oath I don't intend to dissolve because of your gripes."
"And she has a duty to the White Kingdom." James pressed.
"A duty she has every right to decline." Regina persisted, trying to keep her anger in check.
"I demand she is returned this instant."
"She almost DIED you IDIOT! She is in no state to be moved."
"How is she?" Snow asked meekly, not raising her eyes from the floor.
"She is still unconscious."
"May I see her?" Snow's voice was barely above a whisper.
"You may not. She is in private chambers and shouldn't be disturbed." Regina replied, partly out of anger at Snow and partly because she wasn't keen for the White Queen to know that she was sharing a bed with the White Princess, even if nothing much had happened between them.
"She will be ok though?"
"Given time and proper care she will be perfectly healthy. In the meantime I suggest we adjourn this…"
The doors to the throne room entered and the blonde staggered in.
Emma had awoken with a powerful headache. She had thrown up and the room appeared to sway. She recognised that she was in her and Regina's shared chambers. Knowing the queen Emma looked for a note. She soon found it but couldn't decipher what it said past the swirling of her vision.
She asked one of the guards at the door to read it to her. Once he had she immediately made her way down to the throne room, not caring about the state she was in, she just wanted to see Regina.
"Emma!" Regina and Snow both said together, however Snow remained in her seat as Regina quickly made her way to Emma's side to support her into a chair by her throne.
"How are you?" Regina said softly, well aware of the headache she must be experiencing.
"Been better." Emma half slurred. "What…" She was unable to fore fill the sentence but Regina managed to answer her question any way.
"You won Knight Swan. And Henry is safe; although he would be delighted to see you awake."
The visiting royals took in the softened expression on the evil queens' face as she talked to the Princess. They could all tell that she cared for the Knight and that her knight in turn cared deeply for her queen.
"Go back to bed. I shall see you soon." Regina waved a hand but her magic didn't work, she frowned and tried to hide the issue from her guests. She couldn't let them know that at times her magic failed her. Emma though noticed and placed a hand on Regina's. The familiar purple smoke surrounded Emma and transported her back to their bedchambers.
"Now as you can see" Regina said to the room, her expression hardening once more "Knight Swan will require a little longer to recuperate, so for now the meeting is adjourned. Please feel free to explore the palace grounds. Thank you." With that Regina disappeared in the purple fog as she felt the pull to her champion.