Regina had just finished changing her clothes to attend dinner when she walked out into their bedroom to find Emma sitting on their bed, obviously waiting for her. Emma had her head down.

"Were you leaving?" she asked looking up.

Regina knew she would have to account for what she had done yet now that it was here, she didn't know what to say.

"No," Regina said finally and she went to sit down beside Emma only for her wife to stand up and move away from her. "I wasn't leaving. I wouldn't do that."

"Then what were you doing?" Emma practically yelled. "Why would you give the guards the slip like that? You could have … what if something had happened to you? Did you even think of me?"

There it was. Regina knew that Emma would take this personally. She knew it before she had done it, yet she had still done it.

"I'm sorry," Regina said getting up and approaching her, only for Emma to back up, causing her to stop. "I've been …frustrated lately with my mom and my magic and …"

"It's always your magic," Emma said interrupted. "Well, your magic isn't more important than your kingdom. Maybe that's a lesson your mom can teach you."

Regina was so stunned that she didn't get the chance to say anything before Emma walked out.

Dinner was a quiet affair as it was only Regina and her mother. Any appetite she had was lost when Emma failed to show up.

Normally Regina would have gone with her mother for her lesson afterward but she wanted to find Emma.

"Regina," Cora said, as Regina started to go in the opposite direction.

"Sorry," Regina said. "I need to speak with Emma."

"This is my last night here," Cora said. "I thought we could go over a few things you could practice on your own."

Regina paused. "It'll have to wait," Regina said. "I have something more important to attend to."

It didn't take Regina long to find Emma as she had a feeling she knew where she would be. As much as Regina often retreated to the stables in times of stress, Emma's release came in the form of the practice yard for their guards. There she found Emma in the ring practicing her forms.

Regina took a seat and watched as Emma went through her movements in silence. There were torches lit around the ring casting Emma's shadow around the ring as she moved.

She was moving at a fast pace for much of the time and Regina could see the sweat gathering on her skin.

Her beautiful wife. Regina felt regret over her earlier actions. It was foolish and she knew it. The way Emma has looked at her upstairs, she never wanted to see that look ever again.

She waited for Emma to finish, wondering what she could say to make this right. Emma finished, walking out of the ring and approaching Regina. She leaned near Regina, picking up her scabbard, but not saying anything to her. Once her sword was safe in its scabbard, Emma walked away, forcing Regina to catch up to her.
"Emma," Regina said grabbing a hold of her arm only for Emma to shake it off.

"I need to bathe," Emma said picking up her pace as Regina stopped. It was no use speaking to her now she knew.

Cora was surprised when Regina knocked on her door that evening.

"I messed up," Regina said.

"Come in," Cora said moving out of the way for Regina to enter. She knew something had happened between Emma and Regina based on Regina's earlier behavior. After her visit from Emma earlier she had expected if Regina was going to skip their final lesson it would be because Emma had talked her out of it so they could spend time together. Once her memories were returned Emma had been eager for Regina to get back from her ride.

While she had made Emma promise to not tell Regina the truth, she knew the young woman wouldn't be able to resist being around her daughter as much as possible.

It meant that whatever happened was enough to spoil Emma's enthusiasm and based on what Regina had just said, it was her fault.

"What happened?" Cora asked.

"My ride today, the reason I was late coming back was because I lost my guards and rode off."

"Regina."

"I know," she said. "It was stupid."

"And dangerous."

"Nothing happened to me."

"Thankfully so, but how many times were you warned against such things as a child. And yes you pushed those limits with me and your father on more than one occasion, but you're an adult now and queen and you can't take off like that."

"I don't need a lecture," Regina said. "I know what I did was wrong."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because you are leaving tomorrow. You are leaving and I don't know anything about this magic. I can't make it manifest at will. I'm not anywhere closer to controlling it," Regina said, her emotions getting the better of her. "And I don't know when I will see you again and even when I do, it's not like I will get an entire month with you again for lessons. I just … I wish I had never been born with this inside of me."

As the words left her mouth, a fireball formed in each hand.

"Honey, you need to calm down," Cora said.

Regina was looking down at her hands and fireballs hovering just above each of them. She could feel the heat of them. These were much stronger than any magic she had performed before. It was more power than she had ever mustered before.

And it felt good.

"Regina!" Cora said more urgently this time and when Regina made eye contact with her the fireballs disappeared. But already Regina was trying to make the fireballs come back and becoming increasingly frustrated.

"Stop," Cora said putting a hand on Regina's forearm. "Not like this. Not when your emotions are all over the place. You do magic like this and there will be no control."

"Why can't I get it to come at will? Why must it always be like this? Why mother?"

"Because you fear it too much," Cora sighed. "You fear your magic and that is why you are unable to simply make it happen. The only thing stopping you from performing magic with some measure of control is you."

Regina stepped back from her. "I fear it because you have taught me to fear it."

"I know," Cora said. "But if I am not mistaken, you didn't come here to speak of your magic unless there is something you aren't telling me about this ride of yours. Did your magic flare up while you were out here? Did something happen?"

"No," Regina quickly answered. "Nothing happened, I swear. I rode off, I ran into some woman on a runaway horse and helped her get back here. That is it."

"Then what has you so agitated?"

"Emma. She's mad at me. She won't even speak to me. I skipped our lesson so I could go find her and talk to her after she didn't show for dinner and when I found her, she practically ignored me. I don't know what to do."

Cora was surprised Regina was even coming to about this. Her daughter had not sought her counsel for many years outside of her desire to learn magic.

"Did you think she wouldn't be mad after you ran off?"

"I didn't run off. I just … I took a little break. I was never not coming back here. Even when I did this back home, I always came back. I will always come back."

"But how would Emma know that? You two spent so much time ignoring each other before you got married and when you first got married, there are going to be things about each other you don't know. When you get married, it doesn't all magically fall into place," Cora said. "Do you think I knew everything about your father and his habits and his thoughts when I first married him? It took years for us to truly know each other and yet after all these years he can still surprise me at times. You and Emma are still at the beginning stages. It's not like riding your horse at breakneck speed, it's a long journey."

"What do I do?"

"You give her time to cool down and then you speak to her. Don't let this linger between you two. Your father and I always try not to go to bed at a night with a disagreement between us, but that doesn't always work out. Both sides need to be willing to listen when it comes time to listen."

Regina stepped away from her mom, thinking about what she had said. It wasn't like she and Emma hadn't ignored each other before, but this was different. This was squarely on her shoulders as she was the one who was in the wrong.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to make this right with her," Regina said.

"Good. That is how you know you will do the right thing," Cora answered. "Now come sit with me. You skipped our final lesson but there are some things I want to go over with you before I leave."

…

Emma wasn't really mad at Regina, well not entirely. As she lied in bed, Regina asleep beside her, she couldn't help but think of how she had so much hope earlier in the day. Now that she had her memories back she knew Regina and her were meant to be together, yet here they had gone to bed not speaking. And that was Emma's choice.

When Regina had returned to the room Emma had already been in bed, lying on her side facing out. Her eyes were closed as she pretended to be asleep. Regina had gone to change clothes and when she slipped into bed she lay so she was facing Emma's back.

"I don't know if you are asleep, or lying there with your eyes closed," Regina said softly. "Either way, I wanted you to know how sorry I am for my actions today. I acted foolishly and selfishly. I won't ever do it again, I promise."

She didn't say anything else and Emma kept quiet throughout. It was a while before she heard Regina's breathing even out as she fell asleep. But Emma couldn't sleep.

All she could think about was Regina leaving.

She thought they had gotten past such things. Now she felt like Regina's magic was always going to come between them just as it had when they were kids. Logically she knew it wasn't Regina's fault what had happened to her when she was a kid, but she couldn't help but think that without her magic maybe she and Regina and the connection they felt would have always been there.

She felt like she was cheated out of something special, they were cheated out of something special. They took her away from Regina and now it was Regina who by her own choice had gone away.

That was unfair, she knew, after all, Regina had come back.

She wished that this, this life they were building was enough for Regina, but it would appear it wasn't.

It was a long time before Emma fell asleep that night and when she woke it was to an empty bed. She turned over to look at the area where Regina slept and she put her hand on it – it was cold indicating her wife hadn't been there for a while.

Finally finding the will to get up, she changed her clothes and walked out to the common room, stopping as Regina rose from the couch.

"I was just about to leave. It's time to see my mother off," Regina said.

"Oh."

"Afterward, could um could we talk?"

"Maybe we should hold off on that," Emma said. "There were some matters I had to postpone yesterday that really should be attended to today."

Regina nodded and walked to the door.

"Wait," Emma said. "I'll go with you to see your mom off."

They went out together, walking side by side, but not speaking. No words were exchanged at all as they made their way down to where Cora was already waiting next to her carriage.

"I was beginning to think I would be leaving without a farewell," Cora said hugging Regina.

"It was my fault," Emma said. "I slept in."

Cora moved over and hugged her too. "Forgive her," Cora whispered in her ear. "She didn't mean to upset you."

Cora stepped back to view both of them. "It feels like only a short time has passed. I wish I could stay longer but I have to get back home to your father. Now my beautiful daughters, because you Emma are also my daughter, you two take care of each other. "

"We will," Regina said.

After giving each of them a hug once more Cora got into her carriage and it began the long journey home. Regina stepped back as the carriage began to roll and by the time it was out of the courtyard and out of sight, she turned back toward Emma only to find her gone.

….

Maleficent watched from her shop window as the carriage carrying Cora rolled on by. It took a considerable amount of restraint for her not to strike at the woman now when she would hardly be expecting it. The only thing that kept her at bay was knowing she had bigger plans, plans that involved Regina. Even in the small amount of time, she spent with her, Maleficent could tell the younger woman had more power than her mother.

All she needed was a guiding hand and since Cora had decided not to be that person, Maleficent was more than willing to step in.

While patience was never one of her virtues, she knew she would have to be with Regina. She didn't know much about her beyond what she had been told and she didn't like relying on others for information. As much as she loathed to get to know Cora's child she would have to in order to be able to manipulate her.

As the carriage went out of view Maleficent pulled the curtain closed. She had work to do.

Emma and Regina stayed busy and out of each other's way all day long. It wasn't as if Regina didn't want to talk to her wife, she did very much so, but she also knew she needed to be patient. If there was one lesson that Cora had drilled into her in the last month it was patience and not being in a hurry to jump to the next lesson. She hoped Emma wouldn't keep up the silent treatment for very long as Regina's patience wasn't perfect.

As it was, the two women ate their dinner separate that night, Regina learning that Emma had eaten about an hour earlier. She suspected that she was once again down at the practice ring, but this time she didn't go after her. Eating her meal alone she thought again about why had she run off like that, trying to figure out what to say to Emma about it. In the end, she decided nothing she said would make much of a difference. She had left, and yes, she had come back but the damage had already been done.

When she finished her meal, she retired back to their rooms, hoping her wife would at least join her at a decent hour.

The longer she waited, the worse she felt about all of this until she forced herself to sit down and try and calm down. She thought about the magic and how it had again come unbidden when she was upset in her mom's room the night before.

Her emotions were tied to her magic yet she couldn't keep them at bay any more than she could her magic. She wasn't just upset, she was sad, sad at the idea that she had permanently messed things up with Emma this time. What would she do if Emma didn't forgive her?

She couldn't lose her. She wouldn't lose her.

Even as she sat there she knew she would do anything to make it right.