Regina woke once more with Emma touching her. This time her wife was practically hugging Regina's arm, which forced Regina to maneuver her way out even more subtly than normal. Once she did, she was again amazed at how Emma kept doing this each night – somehow coming in contact with her – and how Emma avoided waking in the morning when Regina had extricated herself.

So far Regina had held her tongue about this but it seemed every morning she debated whether or not to say something about it. She hadn't in part because she and Emma had been getting along better recently. It had been two months since her father and Emma's mother had been there and they had promised they would work together. And in that time they had indeed worked more together. They consulted each other on matters whether it was strictly necessary or not. Regina had gone with Emma to inspect the guards during one of their practice sessions – something Regina had no interest in, but she found she listened intently to Emma as she explained what the purpose of the various exercises was for.

Emma had sat through what Regina was sure was a grueling session of shopping to determine what to give as a gift to one of the other queens who was celebrating her 50th birthday.

Regina hadn't wanted to upset the healthy balance they had going on so she hadn't said anything about what Emma had been doing each night when they went to bed. Since Emma typically fell asleep faster than her, there were times Regina was awake when Emma would start to move. It was odd to her because it seemed like no matter what position Emma fell asleep in when she started to move she always gravitated over to where Regina was sleeping. Sometimes Emma would stop so that they were barely touching each other. Other times Emma's leg or an arm would end up on top of Regina.

Then there was the one morning when it wasn't Emma who was draped over Emma, but instead, she had moved in her sleep and woke with her arm around Emma. That was by far the most awkward morning for her.

She went into the changing room – without any need to rush this morning as she had nothing planned. When she returned to their bedroom Emma was sitting up, clearly in the midst of her "process" of waking. Emma had explained to her that waking was a process, which Regina was not ready to buy into.

"Going riding?" Emma yawned as she noted what Regina was wearing.

"Yes. The opportunities for me to go out have been limited lately so I thought since there is nothing on my schedule this morning I would go out with Quicksilver."

"Do you want some company?" Emma asked.

Regina paused – Emma had never asked to go riding with her before. "That would be nice," she finally answered.

"Good. I have something I thought we should talk about," Emma said getting out of bed and heading to the changing room.

"And what's that?" Regina asked.

"Celebrating our wedding anniversary," Emma replied before disappearing into the other room.

Regina was struck dumb by her answer. Their wedding anniversary, which was still months away, why would Emma want to talk about that, she wondered. Yes, they had been getting along better these last two months but the idea of celebrating their first anniversary seemed downright ludicrous to Regina.

After all, they hadn't even consummated the marriage – something Regina didn't want to think about.

Emma changed clothes quickly and soon they were out riding – a small contingent of guards following them but far enough away that they wouldn't be disturbed. They had talked about some other things while the horses were being prepped and to start the ride off, but now there was a small lapse into silence.

"You um wanted to talk about our wedding anniversary," Regina said to open up the conversation.

"Yes, see I was thinking we should throw a kingdom-wide celebration to mark year one," Emma said. "If we are going to do it, we need to pick a day or days now and send out invitations to those we want to invite from the other realms. There is a lot of planning that goes into something like this so I thought we should discuss and get started."

"Day or days? How big of a celebration were you thinking of?"

"I think we have to go big, don't you?"

"I guess," Regina said. She was thoroughly confused as to why Emma would want a big celebration of their anniversary, but if she asked Emma why she was afraid it would open up into a conversation she wasn't sure she was ready to have.

"If you don't want it to be really big we don't have to do it that way. I thought it might be easier that way you know, so no one suspects why we are doing it."

Now Regina was beyond confused. She slowed down Quicksilver and then came to a complete stop. She waited for Emma to also stop and face her.

"Why would be doing this? This celebration," Regina said. "I am not saying it's a bad idea, but I think maybe I need it clarified."

"Oh," Emma said. "Because of your magic."

Regina gave her a confused look and Emma scrambled to explain. "Since we can't actively look for someone who can do magic, at least not in any way I can think of, I thought we could use the celebration as a way to get magicians to come to us."

This time it was Regina's turn to say, "Oh."

"You don't think it's a good idea?" Emma said somewhat dejectedly.

"No, it's not that. It's just … do people have celebrations that magicians come to?"

"Yeah, haven't you ever been to like a fair or something like that?"

"Of course, but …" she trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You've never been to one where there was a magician," Emma said.

Even as Emma said it Regina knew she was right. She was thinking back to the various festivals that her home kingdom had and never once had there been a magician. She thought to when she would visit other kingdoms with her parents and there would sometimes be a celebration going on, but never had she seen a magician. That didn't mean there wasn't any there. She remembered that fateful trip she had taken with her mother and how she had been in complete wonder at seeing an elephant and how her mother had almost been pushing her in that direction beforehand.

"It would appear I have never," Regina said.

"Wow, your parents didn't want you around magic," Emma said. And again she wondered why.

"Well how do you know these magicians aren't anything more than charlatans," Regina said and she gave Quicksilver a slight nudge to get him moving again. Emma stared after her a moment trying to figure out what she had done wrong, but then quickly caught up to her.

"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you," Emma said.

"I am not upset."

"Really? Because the stiffening of your jawline would suggest otherwise," Emma said earning her a disapproving look from Regina. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't realize when you said your parents didn't want you having anything to do with magic that it meant you had never even seen a magician perform. Maybe you are right, maybe they are just charlatans, but I said I would help with this and I want to help you with this so this is the best I got right now."

Regina sighed. "I am the one who is sorry," she said. "It bothers me that my parents went to such lengths over this. Even the letter I received by messenger from my mother, she thanked me for being willing to try and let go of this anger but there was no concession on her part about any of it. I told her things I wanted to know – about her magic, about how her parents handled it; I even went as far as admonishing her for not teaching me how to ignore it thinking she would at least offer that up. But nothing."

Emma had known she had gotten a letter from Cora weeks after her father's visit, but Regina hadn't said what her mother had written. She knew from Regina's reaction to it that it wasn't what she was maybe hoping to get from her mother.

"I hate to say this, but I think you are going to have to resign yourself to the fact that your parents are never going to be on board with this. They have had more than their fair share of opportunities and have chosen to be silent. I know you would like your mother to be involved – to help you with this, but I don't think that is going to happen."

Regina kept her eyes forward, refusing to look at Emma, knowing if she did she would see some sympathetic look and that isn't what she wanted to see right now.

"I know," she said. "I've known for a long time that this was the way it was going to be, that they would never allow … I just hoped."

"I wish things were different for you," Emma said.

"They are," Regina said looking at her suddenly. "They are because I am no longer that little girl who had to obey her parents. I am my own person now. And … and I have you."

Emma smiled widely at her in return. "So shall we plan a celebration?"

"Yes, let's."

….

Emma rode the horse a little harder than she probably should have but as she neared her parents' castle she was excited to see her father. While her mother had been for a visit, she had not seen her father since just after the wedding. The weather was turning colder and she had wanted to make this visit before winter set in entirely.

A group of about 10 of her guards accompanied her. She didn't fear anything would happen, but she couldn't make a trip like this without being suitably guarded Regina had said to her. Personally, she thought Regina was just paying her back for all the times she made guards accompany her during her rides. Regina did after all have a rather sly smile on her face when she insisted on the guard contingent that was now following her.

As Emma neared the gates to the castle she realized how odd it was that this was no longer her home. She hadn't given it much thought before this moment, but now that she was closer to the walls she felt a slight twinge of emotion. When she entered she would do so as a visitor.

Unconsciously she slowed down despite having been in a hurry mere moments before. This had been her home but now it wasn't. She even wondered if she would be staying in her old room or if she would be put up in one of the rooms where visiting royalty was set up in. She scolded herself for being ridiculous and sped up once more. As she and her guards got to the gate they were greeted warmly by those on duty, most of whom Emma knew. It felt weird being called Queen Emma instead of Princess Emma.

She made her way to the castle proper and dismounted, handing the reins of her horse to a stable boy and receiving a giant hug from her father who swooped in.

"I've missed you," he said.

"I've missed you too," she said once he released her. "It's so good to see you."

He put an arm around her and they walked into the castle. "Is that a new sword?" he said noting the weapon she wore.

"Yes," she said smiling and she stopped to draw it out so he could inspect it. He took it from her and she stepped back so he could give it a couple of swings.

"Very good balance," he said. "It's a quality blade, where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from Regina for my birthday last month, but you already knew that," Emma said still smiling. When her birthday came around she honestly wasn't expecting anything from her wife, so she was surprised when Regina gave her the sword after a dinner to celebrate her birthday. Emma was so surprised and pleased with the gift without thinking she had grabbed Regina right then and there and kissed her.

Regina had been caught off guard and she hadn't kissed back, and since they were still in public at the time, Regina merely smiled at her. Emma was more than happy later when they were alone that Regina hadn't said anything negative about the encounter. Although, Emma was a little sad Regina hadn't mentioned it all either.

"Your wife may have asked my opinion," Charming said smiling back at his daughter.

"Well you gave her some good input," Emma said.

They spent the day together – even getting some time in with their practice swords – and Emma didn't see her mother until dinner that night. Snow of course asked her how things were going with the kingdom and if there were any matters they needed to discuss. She asked about Regina and Emma felt more confident in answering that question now.

That night when she went to bed – in her former room – Emma found she was having trouble getting to sleep. She even went as far as having warm milk brought up to her but she still found sleep was eluding her. She just couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in.

She lay awake staring at the ceiling for a long time and by morning – after little sleep – she knew what the problem was. This was no longer her bed.

It wasn't just that though – this was the first time in months she had slept alone and she realized she didn't like it. She missed Regina's presence.

For the most part, she was a deep sleeper, and Regina most often woke before she did, but that didn't mean Emma was always waking up last. Many mornings she would wake early, find Regina in her embrace and she would merely lay there watching her wife sleep. She drew so much comfort from being close to her that Emma would often fall back to a peaceful slumber.

Then there were those other mornings where she would wake – yet pretend to be asleep – when she felt Regina move to extricate herself. Those were the mornings she found it hard not to smile while pretending to be asleep.

Yet Regina had never said a word to her about it.

That more than anything bothered Emma. When they first met, and throughout the time leading up to their marriage they had both done the no-talking thing. When they were married, they both kept it up to varying degrees. But things had finally changed between them – at least in Emma's mind, they had. Still, she could get only so far with Regina and it was like the other woman would shut down.

They talked more, but whenever Emma tried to steer the conversation to more personal subjects she didn't get very far. Even this situation with the magic – Emma knew how much it bothered Regina and while there had been small outbursts of emotion from Regina concerning it Emma couldn't help but think Regina was holding back.

She just wished Regina could get past the point where she thought she had to hold back from her.

Regina saying nothing about their sleeping arrangement had Emma believing that Regina wasn't opposed to it, but she couldn't say for sure that was the case.

If it bothered Regina, Emma wished she would say something and if she wasn't bothered by it, she still wished Regina would say something. It was like the kiss she gave Regina after getting the sword – did Regina like it? And if she did like it, would she be opposed to the idea of more kisses?

Emma wasn't opposed to the idea.

Even if they didn't exactly get along from the moment they had met, it didn't mean that Emma didn't find Regina attractive – she did. Since their original meetings and time leading up to the wedding were anything but cordial she hadn't thought about the intimacy part of being married to her. Lately, though Emma had thought more and more about it.

It's why she couldn't sleep in her old bed – she merely enjoyed being close to Regina while she slept and she hadn't considered the idea that she would miss it so much she would struggle when Regina wasn't there.

She spent the next few days in her parents' kingdom – speaking with familiar acquaintances and just enjoying being there. The night before she was to leave she had dinner with her parents. They ate not in the dining hall, but in a smaller dining room that they had reserved for times they wished to dine alone. The servants had cleared the dishes once they were done and Emma noticed Snow watched them as they left the room before she turned to her daughter.

"I was hoping we could speak a little bit about this anniversary celebration that you are planning for your kingdom," Snow said.

In addition to the official invitation she had sent her parents, she had also written to her mother about it and some of the plans for the two-day celebration. But the tone in her mother's voice right now didn't sound like she was happy about it.

"Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about?" Emma asked.

"I think it's wonderful that you and Regina are planning to celebrate not just your marriage but the kingdom itself. It sounds like from the last letter that you are planning on incorporating some of the things we have done here for our festivals."

"The idea was to take different traditions or pieces from both kingdoms and sort of weave them together," Emma said. "There is going to be an exhibition of some of our best riders who are going to put on quite a show of skills and our best guards will display their weapon skills. Then there will be other shows, demonstrations, contests and such that people can experience at their leisure during all of it. We thought it would be best to have a lot of public attractions for our people and our guests."

"It is a good idea," Charming said. "It will bring the people together and remind them that while they were once from different lands they are all part of the kingdom now."

"It is a very good thing you two are doing for your people," Snow added. "My only concern is that you might be overdoing it a bit."

"How so?" Emma asked.

"Well, it's my understanding that you put a call out to all kinds of artisans, storytellers, musicians, and magicians. Perhaps it would be best if you made sure there isn't too much competition for people's attention – maybe decide that storytellers and musicians would be best. Those always seemed to do the best at our celebrations. Putting on a celebration of this size is a daunting task and my concern is that you don't need to do as much as you may think you need to do. You've seen these types of affairs plenty of times and you know the people are merely happy for a day or two of fun and you don't have to have a lot to be successful in it."

Emma wasn't sure how to respond. "I guess," she said finally. "I think Regina and I want the people to have something to celebrate, something they will remember for a lifetime. We're even going to have fireworks. In Regina's home kingdom fireworks are normal for something like this, but I've only seen fireworks once in my lifetime and I still remember it even though I was what six at the time. That is the kind of experience we want to be able to give to our people."

"See, that is a great example. Fireworks will be a memorable experience for many of the people there," Snow said. "Between the exhibitions you have planned and the contests and demonstrations I think you have things well covered without adding a lot more to it."

Emma felt this whole conversation was strange. Her mother was being casual yet sort of pressing that they were going overboard with this, which seemed out of character for her. Growing up Emma had seen first hand how Snow loved to plan their festivals with the belief that bigger was better.

There was no way for Emma to explain why they had put the call out for people like magicians so she decided it was best to leave the conversation open-ended.

"I will speak to Regina about it when I return," she said. "Maybe you are right and we should re-evaluate a few things. We still have time after all."

"Yes you do," Snow said. "And I hope you know I am here to help you or Regina with the planning if you wish it."

"I know," Emma said. "I just really want this to go well, not just for the kingdom but for Regina too."

"It's heart-warming that you two are getting along so well," Snow said.

"Yeah. It's funny, I didn't consider it on the way here, but I miss her. I didn't think I'd ever get to that point the way we started and it's hard to explain, but being here seems kind of odd because this is no longer my home. My home is back there with her."

"I think we understand," Charming said putting a hand on Snow's hand and smiling at his wife.