A week after their seventeenth, Emma received news.
"Just be back in time for dinner Emma!"
"Don't worry father, I will!"
She yelled as she ran off toward the castle
Their village was on the edge of town, maybe a mile away but it still provided a calmness and privacy away from the main town. Providing the East to the Werewolves. She ran across the bridge and saw the guards smile at her as they opened the castle doors for her.
"Thank you!" she smiles back at them, earning a nod in return as she runs through and up the stairs where she knows her favorite brunette is.
"Regina! Regina!" Emma shouts down the hallway, her voice echoing off the walls.
Regina looks up from her books as she hears the voice and smiles. Mal grumbles. She looks to her mother and sees her roll her eyes and smile. Cora looks at her and nods her head to the door "Go ahead, I think we've had enough for today anyway. We can continue tomorrow."
She jumps from her chair and out the door to meet the blonde.
Mal sighs and gathers their books
As Regina walks out the door, she is tackled by Emma who couldn't stop in time and the girls fall to the ground laughing.
"Sorry." Emma blushes and scrambles off of the brunette to help her up. Being in trousers and a flowy shirt, she was able to get up effortlessly, Regina being in a dress, it's trickier to get up without her foot getting caught on the end of it.
"It's okay, I should be used to it by now" she giggles, "what are you doing here though? You know I have lessons"
The blonde looks out the window, seeing the sun high in the sky she could tell it was noon. She shrugs, "yeah but it's lunchtime, my father and I got done early with training. I have news and I couldn't wait to see you." she smiles brightly.
"What news?" Mal walks out and shakes her head when Regina tries to take her books from her.
"Let's go to paradise and I'll tell you." Emma smiles
"I'll go put our books in Regina's room and I can meet you two there." Mal nods to them, touching Regina's hand as she departs
Emma furrows her eyebrows at the action and the dreamy facial expression on the dragon's face.
Regina smiles and they start walking towards the kitchen. They received their lunch and put it in a basket, retrieved a blanket and walked towards their spot near the lake. When they arrived, Emma laid out the blanket and helped Regina spread their lunch across it. Mal flew in and they all just sat eating their lunch in silence while enjoying the view.
Once they were done, they sat back and just enjoyed their peace. Emma and Mal laid on their backs with their arms beneath their heads on the blanket while Regina leaned against the boulder they had next to them with her head back and they all looked to the sky, watching the birds overhead, the clouds drift, completely content.
This was the only time they could really relax. Emma had more knight training classes now while Mal and Regina had their etiquette classes. Yes, they had combat training as well, Emma just had more because she wanted to be more of a champion Alpha Queen rather than just a co-Queen. Regina and Mal had more of mentally challenging classes though because instead of just regular lessons of basic knowledge like math, science, and magic lessons with Rumple, they now had to add on finances, how to rule a kingdom, the details of the law, etc. All of their lessons ran until dinner. They were coming of age and soon their parents would begin the process of stepping down and giving them their titles once they decided they were ready. But the lessons seemed like they were endless.
"So what was this news?" Mal asked
After a while, Emma answered, "I'm going on a mission with my father."
Regina snapped her head to look at the blonde as Emma turned her head from the sky to look back at her. "You're joking?"
Emma shook her head and smiled. "No, I mean it."
"That's amazing! What's the mission for?"
"Just to show me all our people. Showing me every inch of our land and even going to our borders to meet with our ally kingdoms."
"That seems like a lot…" Regina furrowed her eyebrows
Emma nodded and looked back at the sky. She knew the next question going to come up
"How long exactly?" Regina asked
The wolf shrugged
"How long Em?" she asked again
"Father says it's a year-long expedition. Maybe longer depending on the weather." She admitted in a whisper
Regina sat back, looking out to the water.
"That's amazing Emma! I'm so proud of you, you must be excited." Mal cheered, getting up and slapping the girl on her stomach in joy.
"Yeah, of course, I'm excited." she gave a small smile.
She looked to Regina, seeing the dejected look on her face. "Gina?"
At the rare nickname now used, she looked up. "It's going to be hard. Not being able to see my best friend for a year."
"Nah I'm sure I could fly us to where she's at and come bother her." Mal smiled
"Father wants it to be like an actual mission. No distractions." Emma grimaced
"When do you leave?" Regina asked
"In two days."
Regina nodded and with that, the girls sat. Mal and Emma discuss the mission, while their witch thought of the change she had predicted, coming even more evident as their years grew on.
Two days later
"Why are we taking horses when we can wolf out and go?" Emma questioned her parents as they got their horses ready
David chuckled, "Because even wolfed out, yes we can run faster, but we need the supplies. Our tents, sleeping bags, food, water canteens. We have huts around our kingdom to house us, but there will be some nights we'll be sleeping under the moon."
"So Em's going be getting down and dirty," Mal said as her, Regina, Ruby, and Belle walked into the barn to say their goodbyes
"When don't I?" Emma winked at the blonde
"We're all set, I'll let you say your goodbyes." David laid a hand on her shoulder, she nodded her thanks and he took their horses out to say goodbye to his wife.
"No sappy goodbyes guys, I'll be back the week after our birthday week. We can celebrate then. But I don't wanna get emotional." she joked and hugged her wolf sisters first.
Ruby gave her some of her favorite snacks, good for her rations and wouldn't perish so she can savor it. Belle gave her two of her favorite books for her to read. She hugged them goodbye, placing their hands over each other's pack mark. The wolf howling at the moon on their arms.
"Make sure you guys keep me updated. I doubt I won't be able to hear you, but just in case I can't, make sure its all news and not just to annoy me." She winked at Ruby. They laughed and hugged again before leaving together.
Mal made sure to tease her a bit more. But gave her a leather bracelet with carvings around it and a purple opal scale in the middle. "I know we tease one another. But we're sisters yeah? This is my family's symbol. But the great thing about this bracelet, you speak into this scale, I can hear you. It's my own. And with it, if you ever need back up, speak into it, I'll know where you are at and I'll be there with Regina to kick ass."
Emma chuckled wetly, "Careful there Mal, I'd think you care about my well-being."
Mal chuckled and tugged her into a hug, "Regina would kill me if you didn't have something to secure you coming back. It's more for my well-being than yours." she sniffed and pushed her back by her shoulder
Emma grabbed her forearm, "sisters Mal." she said seriously
They held each other's forearms, connecting their tattoos.
"Sisters. You bring your ass back." Mal joked, they laughed and she looked to Regina, "I'll wait outside."
Finally, the barn doors closed. Emma looked to Regina. The girl was hugging herself, tears welling up now that no one else would see.
"Gina.." Emma sighed and pulled Regina into a tight hug. An arm wrapping around her waist and her other hand cupping the back of her head.
The girl hiccupped into her shoulder and wrapped her arms around the wolf's back.
"I'm sorry. Just the fact this will be the longest we've ever been away from each other. It's just hitting me."
"No no, it's okay beautiful. It's crushing me too. I'm sorry. After this, I won't have to be gone this long ever again." she pulled back and wiped Regina's tears for her
"Don't make that promise you idiot. You don't know that." Regina laughed, causing Emma to laugh wetly
"Here, I made this for you. My Uncle Leroy allowed me to come to the mines with him and taught me how to metalwork. I had a lot of free time and started making this about a week ago. It was originally going to be your birthday present but this is a perfect time to give it to you too " she pulled out a necklace. A gold pendant with the triple moon Goddess symbol with an apple tree sprouting from a pentacle in the middle and surrounding the symbol to make a circle
"The moon Goddess symbol is a sign of protection. The sign of my people. She protects us and our families. The pentacle is as you know, the witch's symbol of protection. You are my family Regina, I want you to have this, so I know you're safe. And whenever you're missing me, I'm right here with you through this."
Regina turned around and lifted her hair so Emma could latch it on for her.
"This is so beautiful Emma. But why the apple tree?" she asked when it was on and she turned around to face the blonde again
"You've been growing that apple tree it the castles gardens since we were four. And what are you always telling me about it?" Emma asked
"It's the most vigorous and hardy of all apple trees. It can survive temperatures as low as forty below and keep growing. It can weather any storm. And honestly to this day, I have yet to taste anything more delicious than the fruit it offers." Regina states
"Exactly, the apple tree represents you. Vigorous and strong. Not to mention delicious." she smiled and leaned forward quickly and licked the witches' cheek.
Regina giggled and wiped her cheek. "You idiot."
"Your idiot." Emma smiled and looked her in the eyes, memorizing the chocolate eyes she wouldn't see until next year
"I love it, thank you." She looked at it again, smiling softly
Regina looked up, memorizing the girls face as well before remembering something
"I have this for you." Regina spun her finger in front of her, motioning the wolf to turn. She gathered the blonde hair and asked her to hold it and then latched the necklace she had gotten for her.
Emma turned to face her again and looked down at the gold pendant. A side view of a sitting swan.
"I'm not as talented in metalworking, but I am good at ordering and I had this made for you. A swan. For my favorite Swan." Regina smiled
Emma laughed and pulled her in for another hug. They both sighed, feeling full, their emotions calming.
"At least I finally get my bed back to myself" Regina mumbled into her shoulder
"Come on you'll miss sleeping next to me every night." Emma laughed
"True, but it'll be much cooler during the summer without your extra body heat underneath the covers. I'll miss my human heater during the winter though." she continued, causing them to both laugh.
"Come on Em, We have to reach the outer river before nightfall." David's voice sounded in her head.
She sighed and pulled away. "We have to go. Gotta get to the river before nightfall to set up camp."
Regina nodded and started towards the barn doors with Emma behind her, but she turned around swiftly and wrapped her in a hug one last time. When she pulled back, she placed a lingering kiss on a pale cheek. Smiling at the soft sigh that came from the blonde.
She stood back and looked at the wolf, smiling at seeing her eyes slowly open. And walked out to the others
Emma said her last goodbyes to their friends, "Mal, take care of Regina. Make sure she doesn't burn herself out." she smiled and winked at the dragon. Hearing a huff from the brunette, she leaned over and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek. Pulling back to look one last time into obsidian orbs, wiping a tear from Regina's cheek and got onto her horse.
"Protect my girls," Emma spoke to Ruby and Belle, earning a nod from both. She shook off the bristling she got from seeing Mal wrapping her arm around the witches' shoulders and kissing her head when it laid on her own shoulder. Not noticing the lingering the other blonde did.
And with that, she and her father set off.