"What? Are you- Have you been a book nerd this entire time and haven't told me?" Belle demanded, pulling out the box that Regina had given her a while ago. It was full of books of every sort from different countries and even different worlds.
"Yeah, Regina." Ruby said. "You guys could've been having deep conversations about good literature." She was busy creating a vase on her pottery wheel, one of the only things that kept her occupied from the darkness, but that didn't stop Regina from hitting her in the back of the head.
"So I'm a bit of a nerd. So what?"
Belle held up a magic book where Regina had covered most of the pages with notes about magic and calculations. "I'd say you were a little more than a bit of a nerd."
"I thought I took that one out." Regina said, taking it from her and flipping through the pages. "I remember these. Oh, the memories."
Belle chuckled as she continued looking through the books. "These are amazing Regina. Thank you so much."
"You're more than welcome, dear." Regina smiled, sitting to watch Ruby expertly craft a lump of black clay in a vase. She infused it with a bright flash of magic, turning it partially a shade of very dark blue. Tiny spots of light appeared along the design. She realized they must be Stars. Ruby dipped her finger in a small bowl as the vase continued spinning on the wheel and spread a streak of red around the bottom of the face that started to sparkle like diamonds. Ruby signaled to Lily who had walked in and the dragoness blasted it with fire, cementing it in place.
"That's beautiful, Ruby."
"Thanks, Regina." Ruby flashed her a wolfish grin as she picked up the vase and carried it off to her collection in the mansion.
"So, need any help, guys?" Lily asked.
"Um yes, I'm trying to organize all my new books. I have so much reading to do thanks to Regina." Belle motioned to the box on the table. Lily helped her start putting everything on the shelves.
"We leave in 20 minutes, guys." Regina said, departing to head upstairs to the house. She peered out over the waterfall, finding Mulan and Merida sparring below. Zelena was probably in the garden. She went into the house and found Ruby in her old study. All the books had been moved to Belle's library and the desk, freeing up the shelves and space for Ruby's creations and her pottery equipment, although she essentially had one in almost every room. Ruby had placed her newest vase on a shelf among the multiple others, varying in size, shape and color, yet each one still possessed what looked like stars in the design.
"You smell different." Ruby commented without turning around.
"What?"
"Your scent has changed." Ruby replied, turning to face her as she mixed some kind clay in large bowl. She placed it on a table and approached her mate and sniffed along her neck. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I haven't changed anything."
"Good. I'll ask Granny about it the next time we go in to work."
"Okay." Regina closed her eyes, leaning into the wolf's touch as Ruby kissed her forehead and pulled her into her arms. "Is the darkness getting to you?"
"It does at times, but I'm okay."
"Will you tell me if you aren't okay?"
"Probably not."
Regina stepped back and punched her in the chest. "Tell me, Ruby. I want to help. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."
"Alright." Ruby smirked. "You can get naked. That'll help."
Regina rolled her eyes, but snapped her fingers, removing all of her clothes. "We have 20 minutes."
Ruby's eyes widened as she focused on the queen's body. "That is not enough time to fully appreciate how sexy you are, Regina. But I can try." She closed and locked the door and cleared off the table, picking Regina and sitting her on the edge of it. "My only problem is, where to start."
"How about here?" Regina opened her legs, making Ruby growl with desire.
Xxxxxxx
Emma and her mother were walking along the trail leading down to the lake and the blonde couldn't help rolling her eyes at the way her mother was peeking around every bush trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive pack of shifters that recently left Storybrooke to make their home out in the woods.
"What was Regina like? Before...everything." Emma asked.
Snow paused and thought for a moment, then a smile touched her lips. "She was radiant. Luminous even. I uh, once saw her out in the meadow with Rocinante once. It was like she was the one shining, rather than the sun, giving off light to the world."
"I wish I could've known that Regina." Emma murmured softly.
"Me too. She saved my life, but everything spiraled downhill from there, and I never saw that Regina again."
"She shouldn't have been forced to be the queen." Emma said, pushing on ahead at the sound of laughter. Snow hurried after her, but the blonde froze at the edge of the trees. Regina was wearing a purple bikini, smiling brightly as she splashed water at Zelena, wearing a green bathing suit. Belle was in a bright yellow one and ran and jumped onto Zelena's back, sending them both into the water. Lily picked up Regina and threw her into the middle of the river, only to be tackled by Merida and Ruby. Mulan shook her head with a laugh as she walked along the water's edge, carrying a basket, collecting stones from the sand. The others eventually joined in the task, Zelena and Ruby being the tallest, waded into the middle of the river, while the others stayed in the shallows, collecting stones and passing them to Mulan to fill her basket.
"What are they doing?" Snow asked. "I think we should tell Charming and Neal."
"Maybe we should just ask them." Emma stepped boldly out of the bushes, her mother staying at her heels, and approached the group of women. Each one glanced in their direction, but ultimately returned to the task at hand.
"Hello Emma." Belle was the first to greet them, stepping onto the dry bank and flicking her wet hair out of her face.
"Hey guys. What are you up to?"
"Just collecting rocks." Belle shrugged. "You guys walking the trails?"
"Yeah. Just uh...enjoying the day." Her eyes fell upon Regina, dextrous fingers easily and rapidly picking out stones out of the water and tossing them over her shoulder. Merida was behind her, making a game of catching them. The queen paused to flex her hand and to give the young redhead a break as she took her armful of river rocks over to Mulan.
"So are we." Belle smiled.
"Belle." Zelena called, jerking her head sideways. Belle turned around and walked towards her to take the rocks out of her hands and carry them back to their collection basket. The witch stepped onto dry land and ran her hands through her hair.
"You guys need some help?" Emma asked. "What are the rocks for?"
"We have it under control, thank you Miss Swan. And they're for carving." Regina said as she joined her sister. "Rocks are simple materials, easily malleable and abundant." She held up a stone and placed it in Emma's hand. It was smooth and dark brown. "We're going to make carving tools out of them."
Lily came to her side and looked at Emma. "Do you know if there has been any tree cutting lately?"
"Um, yeah. In the north woods. Why?"
"We need a tree stump." Lily replied. "Merida, come with me to get the stump." She called. Merida immediately shifted and ran towards them. Lily shifted as well and both of them quickly disappeared into the forest.
"Tree stump? What exactly are you building?" Snow asked.
"A den." Regina replied. "Do we have enough, Mulan?" The warrior nodded and Regina gave a low whistle. Ruby raised her head and started to make her way back to shore.
"Where is the den?" Snow continued to probe.
"A special place of ours."
"Let's head back, guys." Ruby commanded, shifting forms. The others followed suit and Regina turned to do the same.
"Regina." The queen paused to look back at Emma. "Can I talk to you, later? Please?" Regina nodded. "Meet me at the old Toll Bridge." Regina nodded again before shifting and racing off with the rest of her pack.
"Why are you meeting Regina?" Snow asked.
"Because I need to talk to her."
"About what?"
"It's none of your business." Emma sighed, turning to leave.
"What do you mean? Emma, what's going on?"
"I'm in love with Regina." Emma said.
"What?" Snow had the most horrified look on her face. More than anything, it just annoyed Emma, so she kept walking. She wasn't ashamed of her feelings for the queen, but she wished she could've at least had the chance to be with Regina. She waited impatiently for night to come. Having ignored her family for the rest of the afternoon, she felt a little better without the accusations and hateful slurs thrown at Regina for bewitching and corrupting their daughter. Still, Emma waited. The shadows nearby moved and a great black wolf stepped out of the forest and walked up the bridge towards her. Regina shifted back into a human, wearing jeans and a long gray shirt.
"Can I help you, Miss Swan?"
Emma took a deep breath. "I miss you."
"Emma-"
"I'm tired of pretending that I'm okay with where I am in life. I love you, Regina, and I'm not going to stop. But I just want you to be in my life. Things aren't as dark when you are around. Even when we fought, even when you hated me. I would rather you cuss me out everyday and call me nothing, than have you do nothing or not have you around at all. Please, I just want-"
"To be happy." Regina smirked slightly. "Believe me, I know the feeling."
Emma sighed and leaned against the bridge. "I'm not asking to be a part of the pack. Ruby would probably bite my head off-"
"Emma, it's not that she hates you, or doesn't like you. She just sees you as a threat because you're in love with me. Ruby is still there and she's still your friend."
"How's she doing with the whole darkness thing?"
"Much better than I ever imagined. She stays occupied." Regina said, looking out over the water. "I can talk to the others. Everyone deserves a place where they can feel accepted despite any and every one of their flaws. Loving someone shouldn't be seen as a flaw." She looked back at Emma. "Sometimes I feel as though your parents see you more as an object for goodness, a hero and a Savior, than an actual person."
"They don't see me as a person. As soon I do something they don't like, they just blow up about it."
"I'm sorry. I can't help but feel partially responsible for that." Regina smirked.
Emma grinned. "Because you are."
Regina chuckled deeply. "We'll see, Miss Swan. Things can always change. You have to take the first step though, just like I did."
"Henry hates me now."
"He doesn't hate you, but he doesn't understand. And I'm the sure the heroes are filling his head with nonsense. Give him time. Give them time, and they'll realize that they have to accept things the way they are. Have you seen Tink lately?"
"Looking for another addition to your pack?" Emma asked.
"She's one of my best friends. She and Zelena would make good friends in my opinion. Then they'd turn everything green." She smiled, and Emma couldn't imagine a better scene before her. Regina, being showered with moonlight and smiling. No wonder they wanted to escape into the darkness of the night. Darkness had its own beauty.
"If I see her, I'll send her your way." Emma nodded. "I suppose you want to get back to building your den."
"Yep, we still have a lot to do. Perhaps, one day you could see it."
"If the rest of the pack doesn't try to kill me."
"Oh relax, you'll be with me, I'm the alpha's mate." Regina paused and looked around, suddenly feeling like they were being watched. There was a strange stirring in her magic. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah. Something's happening." Emma looked up at the sky. There was a bright flash of light that spread across the heavens, creating a dome around Storybrooke before dispersing as suddenly as it had come. "What was that?"
"I don't know. Someone must've cast a spell." Regina said. Suddenly the forest became alive with wolf howls. Regina quickly shifted to answer and shifted back. She looked at a tensed Emma and smirked. "Relax, they're just worried." Ruby was leading the charge, bursting out of the forest with Belle and Zelena hot on her heels. Merida, Mulan and Lily came from the opposite direction. They shifted back and Ruby immediately came to inspect Regina. "I'm fine. Ruby relax."
"What was that in the sky?"
"I don't know."
Ruby looked up at Emma. "This is who you sneak off in the middle of the night to meet?" She growled, eyes glowing.
"Ruby." Regina stepped in front of her, her eyes glowing as well. "Don't touch her."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so." Regina growled.
Ruby arched an eyebrow and Regina bit her lip to keep from attacking the she-wolf. At night, when the darkness was strong in her, Ruby was almost like a wild goddess, a terrible and beautiful wonder that made Regina remind herself that that wolf was hers. she could have Ruby anytime she wanted. "Fine." Ruby said eventually. She looked at Emma. "The queen has spared your life. Count yourself lucky, Savior." She stepped back and Regina relaxed.
"It's not what you think, Ruby." Emma said.
"I know what it is." Ruby replied over her shoulder. She nodded to the others and they shifted and took off again. "We're gonna check the border, Gina, and make sure everything is okay."
Regina nodded. "Wanna bet they're going to blame us for this." Ruby gave her a funny look that made her frown. "What?"
"Why do you smell like that?"
"Smell like what?"
"Something is wrong with you." Ruby tilted her head, sniffing the air.
"I'm fine, Ruby, I swear." Regina looked down at herself before looking at Emma. "Do I look different to you?"
"Yes." Emma replied. "Act different too."
"That's not what I meant."
"I'll just ask Granny tomorrow when we go in for work." Ruby snorted, looking at her as though trying to figure out what was making her different.
"If we can go in." Regina muttered.
"I'll go see if I can find out what's going on and then I'll call you." Emma said. Regina nodded. The blonde glanced at Ruby as she walked back to town. Everything was quiet until she got to the apartment where a group of people were demanding answers from their prince and princess. "Everyone!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, gaining their attention. "whatever was in the sky is gone. It has no damage to anyone or anything." Not that she knew of. "You can all go home and if we find out anymore information, you'll all be the first to know." They seemed to pacify them for them now.
"Regina did this, didn't she?" Charming demanded as she stepped into the house.
"No, I was with her."
"So Zelena then. Or Lily."
"None of them did anything!" she snapped, closing the door. "Where's Henry?"
"Upstairs, asleep."
"Good, I don't want him to hear this." she took her father's arm and lead him over to the kitchen area where Snow was standing. "Both of you are acting like judgemental hypocritical bastards." she said softly.
"Emma!" Snow exclaimed.
"How can you say that after everything Regina has done?" Charming asked.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Because Regina isn't the Evil Queen anymore. She doesn't care about us. she doesn't give us a damn about us or this town. She nor any of them have a reason to do anything to this town. That is why they left in the first place, because you can't see past their faults and who they used to be. You expect them to be picture perfect citizens, but look who stole a baby from their mother and banished them to another world."
"We talked about tha-" Snow cut in, but she was effectively cut off by Emma.
"You can't justify that!" The blonde snapped. "Nothing you have said or done justifies your actions other than you being selfish and treating me like some creature of goodness that you can create. Look at me. Listen to me. Regina and her pack had nothing to do with this. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna find out what's going on and make sure it isn't a threat. You're welcome to do the same, but if you want to keep your heads, I suggest you leave Regina and the others alone." She checked on Henry and left the apartment again to get a room at Granny's B&B. She called Regina as she got settled.
"The town line is locked. No one can leave." Regina said.
"What?"
"We tried. Ruby can't even break through. All of us combined ruptured it, but it came back up full strength as soon as we stopped."
Emma sighed. "Then what do we do?"
"I don't know, Sheriff." came the amused chuckle. "It's still your town. That's your job."
"Can't I bring in a few consultants?"
"I'll see what I can do. Be at the town line tomorrow at 12. Maybe your magic will be enough to break the barrier."
"Got it. Thanks, Regina."
"Of course, you idiot."
Emma laughed to herself as she hung up the phone. Even after they way they'd treated Regina, it amazed her how she all had to do was call the woman and she was there to the rescue. She was more of a hero than anyone Emma had ever known. It was the queen who sweetened her dreams that night and brightened her day as soon as she spotted the woman standing next to the town line, wearing light jeans and a simple long sleeved dark purple shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail draped over her shoulder and she wore no shoes. Ruby was pacing next to her in jean shorts and red sports bra. Zelena was sitting cross legged on the ground in a little emerald green dress while Belle braided flowers into her hair. Lily was watching with an amused smirk, dressed in jeans and a long sleeved brown crop top.
"You are tarnishing my reputation, dear." Zelena grumbled as Emma exited the car.
"Oh come on, if you didn't like it, you wouldn't let me do it in the first place, now would you?" Belle retorted.
Zelena rolled her eyes. "I am the Wicked Witch, not the Dandelion."
"That reminds me, I got you a movie for movie night tonight."
"What is it?"
"You'll see." Belle smirked, pulling out all of the flowers and smoothing down the witch's hair. Zelena stood up and dusted off her backside and turned around to be presented with a green rose. "For the Wicked Witch. Green has its own beauty too."
Zelena smiled. "Thank you, Little Belle."
Emma turned to Regina and walked over. "You guys ready?"
"Yes."
"Where's Mulan and Merida?"
"Collecting Tink at the moment. They should be done soon. So should we. Shall we begin?"
"We shall." Emma smiled. Despite Ruby's cautious look at her, she couldn't help but feel happy about being the queen's presence again. It made her stomach flutter and her heart pound with excitement. The magic users took their places and they were all set to begin when a familiar red truck pulled up. "Son of a bitch."
"Who invited the baby snatchers?" Lily asked emotionlessly, eyes glowing momentarily.
"Want to put them to sleep?" Ruby asked Regina.
"All of your power needs to be concentrated on the wall. Belle, could you-"
"On it." Belle skipped over to the Charmings as they exited the car, pulled out a little vial and splashed them both in the face with it. They hit the ground a second later, sound asleep.
"Now we can begin." Regina smirked, nodding to the others. They once again took their places and unleashed their magic at the barrier. It rippled and shook and for a moment, completely dissolved. Then it came back again with full force, enough to blast them off their feet. "Well that didn't work."
"We're stuck in Storybrooke again?" Emma asked.
"It's not any of you people leave anyway." Lily said, getting back to her feet and quickly helping up the rest of her pack. "Maybe Mom's magic might break it."
"You never wake a hibernating dragon, dear." Regina smirked. "She would probably set us both on fire."
"Then what do we do?"
"Nothing for now. I guess we just continue on as before." The queen looked at Emma. "I suppose you could tell the town whatever you wanted. I don't really have any solutions right now."
"I guess it's fine for now." Emma sighed. "No one's hurt or anything and nothing was damaged. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Good, we have to get to work." Ruby cut in.
/
Ruby watched her new family waitressing tables in the family diner. A smile touched her lips at how far she'd come from the lonely werewolf to the leader of a powerful pack. But something was constantly pressing on her mind. She walked into the kitchen where Granny was hard at work. "Granny, do me a favor."
"Such as? I'm a little busy, pup."
"I know, just walk outside and tell me if you smell anything weird. Please."
Granny sighed and handed her a spatula. "Flip them burgers. I'll be back in a second." Ruby did as instructed, fixing the new orders and sending them out until her grandmother returned with a prognosis. Granny finally returned, nose twitching.
"It's Regina, isn't it? Something's wrong with Regina."
"Nothing's wrong, but something has changed. Not just with her either, with Zelena and Belle too."
"What is it? Do you know? Are they sick?"
"They're pregnant."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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