Chapter Six

"This place is beautiful." Emma whispered softly as she stared out over the rolling hills from the window of their carriage. Turning her head, she looked over toward Regina who didn't seem to be paying much attention. Maybe if she spoke louder, Regina would pay more attention. Clearing her throat, she pulled her sword out and held it in both hands.

"I kind of like having a sword. Rumple said this one was more lightweight. That I can wield faster with it, which I'll need is we're going to a different land," Emma said, admiring the pointed blade as it glimmered in the light that shined through the carriage. Her green eyes lifted to look over at Regina for response, and yet, she received nothing. With the way that Regina stared off into the distance, she knew that her words had fallen upon deaf ears. With a small smirk, her foot reached out and lightly nudged the side of Regina's ankle to get her attention. Darkened eyes shifted to look over at her and she had to force a smile on her lips to hide the nervousness Regina's evil scowl created in her gut.

"Put that thing away before you hurt yourself," Regina snapped with a dismissive voice before turning to look away again. She could see why so many people were afraid of her. If she hadn't known that there was a soft side to Regina, she would have also been afraid. Despite the anger in Regina's eyes, Emma knew that all Regina wanted was to be loved. Those eyes that looked at her with darkness were the very same ones who stared at their son with love and affection. It was in there. She just had to find a way to get it out of her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Emma asked, hoping to stir up conversation.

"Is that all my thoughts are worth? Keep your penny," Regina laughed sarcastically while shaking her head a bit. A soft sigh escaped Emma's lips and she felt her shoulders starting to slouch in defeat.

"Regina. I know this isn't the most ideal situation for either of us to be. You honestly think I want to be here? Life was good. I had a great life with my son in New York. I was happy and this whole world of crazy brought me back to save everyone, you included. The least you can do is try to work with me and not against me." Regina leaned forward quickly, stepping into the offensive mode. Clearly, this was where she felt the most comfortable.

"The least I can do? You act as though I owe you some sort of gratitude for forcing me on a wild goose chase with you! I certainly never asked you to come here, so I'm not obligated to you. You'd do well to remember that!" Regina growled in her words, which stung more than any spell she could have cast. Her hands balled into small fists as she leaned forward slowly to match Regina's pose.

"I don't want you to be obligated to me, Regina. How selfish could you possibly think that I am?! The last thing I care about is your damn obligations! I'm here because I have a son at home who is heartbroken because he loves you and he lost you! I'm here for him! Because he is my son and I love him. I want his happiness, which includes you. I'm here because you're important. I'm here because we need you. You'd do well to remember that!" Regina's eyebrow arched slightly.

"We?" she asked, and Emma immediately regretted her words. She'd gotten so angry that she let words she didn't even know she meant slip out.

"Not we. He. H-He needs you…" she muttered, starting to stammer when she felt the carriage jolt forward rapidly. Regina, having already been leaning forward, fell into Emma's body, landing in the one side of the carriage. Her arms wrapped around Regina's frame and caught her carefully as the carriage came to a stop. "Are you all right?" she asked, their eyes meeting once more. This time, she saw the vulnerability in Regina's eyes and felt her own. Only inches from one another, Emma had rarely actually been this close to see the change of emotions in Regina's eyes. She was so guarded, but in that split moment, she wasn't the Evil Queen. She was Regina. She was Henry's mother…and her heart just melted. The moment was short lived as a loud thud hit the side of the door. Jumping slightly, her eyes broke from Regina's to see the arrow that had been shot at the door of the carriage. Based on the tip of the arrow, she knew there could be only one culprit: Robin Hood and his Merry Men. The masculine voice that called out only confirmed her thoughts.

"Regina! Come out slowly, for my next shot won't be for the carriage, and I never miss." Emma felt her blood run cold at his words. Of course, Robin had no idea what he was going to do in the future, but his last three words resonated in her brain from when he spoke them outside of the portal.

"Oh, you will today," she growled as she pushed herself from her seat toward the carriage door with her hand already on the handle of her sheathed sword.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Regina's voice hinted at concern, though she would have never admitted to it. Regina held all of the magic they needed and yet it was Emma who was quick to jump into action. She couldn't help but to wonder why. The moment Emma's boots touched the ground, her sword was pulled out and pointed in Robin's direction. Robin smirked slightly and lifted his arrow to point in her direction.

"You're brave. Foolish, but brave. Don't make me do this, m'lady. It's not you that I'm after. This is not your fight."

"Like hell, it's not," Emma growled in her words as she pushed off running toward him. The sound of Robin's bow bending back echoed in her ears as the arrow was released in her direction. She watched as the arrow came toward her and yet, despite its unremarkable speed, seemed to see everything as if it were moving in slow motion. Twisting her body to the side, her sword swung around just in time to slice her blade through the arrow and bring it crashing down to the ground in two pieces. The arrow fell to the ground in front of her with a soft thud against the leaves and rocked beneath their feet. Note to self, thank Gold for this sword later, she thought as she looked at the arrow one final time before raising her eyes to her opponents. When Emma's gaze lifted to Robin's once more, she couldn't help but revel in the shocked expression contorting his otherwise handsome features. A satisfied smirk curled her lips upwards.

"You missed." Emma didn't hesitate as she started running toward him once more. The other men ran to catch her before she reached Robin, but were met with a powerful force that held them back. Regina stood on the steps of the carriage with her hand out, purple flames emitting from her fingertips as it circled around Emma and Robin to keep the others from interfering. Whatever problems Emma had, it was best to work them out uninterrupted. Curious, Regina watched to see how Emma would diffuse this situation. Never in a million years did she think Emma to be a violent person. No, she was the type to discuss a situation rather than use physical violence. At least, that's what she thought until she saw Emma lift the hilt of her sword to strike. Regina's smile faded as her eyes locked in on Emma.

"You asked for it," Robin replied as he tossed his bow to the side to retrieve his own sword. He lifted his blade just in time to shield against Emma's blade coming down upon his own in a loud crash. Their swords collided together and knocked them both back. Emma was not going to let down, her rage shining through each swing of her sword, which became harder and faster each time. Seeing his face before her, remembering the look of gratification on his face when that arrow hit Regina in the back, only fueled the fire within her. If she killed him now, he couldn't hurt her family later. As their blades crashed together once more, she brought her foot up and slammed her boot into his stomach. Robin let out a loud grunt with her foot knocking the wind out of him and bringing him down to his knees. Quickly, Emma brought the handle of her sword down onto his back with as much strength as she could muster, causing him to fall on his stomach. Just as her arm lifted for the final strike, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist.

"Emma, stop!" Regina looked to Emma with her eyes filled with confusion. "We don't have time for all of this," she said softly as her hand released Emma's wrist. When Emma met Regina's gaze, she felt the rage dissipate, leaving her there only to find her solace in the midst of dark, pained and guarded eyes. She was right. They didn't have time to do this when Regina's life weighed in the balance and depended on Emma. And yet, Emma still stood there in shock at the rage she was capable of producing.

"What am I doing?" she whispered to herself as she saw Robin's body beneath her, trying to recover. She could have killed him. She would have killed him if Regina hadn't stopped her. With her hands shaking, she sheathed her sword once more and stepped back.

"I...I have to go." she spoke, shocked at her own behavior as she started to run toward the woods.

"Emma, wait!" Regina looked to the men behind the flames, held back from reach. She moved back until she reached one of the horses, grabbing hold of his reins that were attached to the carriage to lift herself up on top.

"Well, boys. Today is your lucky day. I'm not going to kill you," she said as the flames dissolved. Regina smirked down toward Robin before giving a slight tug on the horse's reins to head in Emma's direction. "Don't follow us, or you won't live to regret it." With her icy warning, Regina was gone into the woods, leaving Robin and his men to stare as they were left with only the sound of her horse's hooves fading away as she ran after Emma to find her.

Her heart pounded in her chest, boots thudding against the damp ground. Where was Emma running? Why was she running away? She had so much to do and yet, at the first opportunity, she ran. Emma ran through the words until her legs ached and her lungs were on fire, but there was nothing that she could do to escape the reality of her epiphany: It wasn't because of Henry's loss that she lashed out and almost killed a man. It was because of her own loss. Watching the light dissipate out of Regina's eyes left a hole in her that was deeper than she had ever thought possible. Sure, she knew and had hoped that they would someday be good friends, but the loss she experienced shook her to the core. It wasn't until she saw her blade inches away from taking someone's life that she realized her own grief.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a snag of a root catching her foot, sending her forward as she flew into the dirt before her with a loud thud. Dirt covered her as she hit the ground, stopped in her tracks. Seconds later, the sound of hooves came to a stop. Great, Emma. Eat dirt with an audience. Good job. Spitting out a small amount of dirt, she slowly pushed herself up from the ground.

"Care to explain yourself? You almost kill a man and then run away to leave me with that mess? I don't know what you were thinking! Now you're filthy." Regina's tone showed a bit of irritation, and Emma couldn't blame her. Stunned in silence, Emma stood and began to brush off the dirt. How on earth could she possibly explain what came over her? There was nothing that she could say that would make this situation better. Adjusting the sword on her hip, she gave an apologetic glance.

"I'm sorry. And no, I don't care to explain myself," Emma replied gruffly, her hand rubbing at the back of her neck as she started to look around. It was in this moment that she realized...she had absolutely no idea where they were. Regina stared for the longest time, as if her expectant gaze would intimidate Emma into further explanation, but to no avail. Finally, she spoke.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. What next? Where are we going from here?" Emma didn't hesitate to respond, causing Regina to scoff.

"Well, we're going to have to reconsider another way to get there since Robin Hood and his Bumbling Idiots ruined one of the wheels on the carriage. While you were off running around in your angst, I managed to unhook the horse. Get on." It was Emma's turn to scoff.

"I'm not getting on that thing." Regina's eyes hardened as she zeroed in on Emma's gaze.

"You're the one who has done everything you can to get me to go on this absurd adventure with you to find some silly hat and a witch. Finally, I agree to it and you're acting like a child. Stop wasting my time and get on this horse!" Maybe it was the logic behind her words, or the angry tone in her words, but Emma was quick to react this time, unlike all of the others.

A soft curse was muttered underneath her breath as she lifted one foot into the holster on the horse's saddle, reaching for Regina's hand to help pull her up. Her hand slid into Regina's gloved one, pulling herself up onto the saddle to straddle behind Regina.

"Now, hold on tight. Don't fall off. It's bad enough that you're getting dirt on my clothes this time around. I won't stand for a second time," she said as she snapped the reins of the horse. Emma immediately wrapped her arms around Regina's waist, holding tight as the horse began to gallop its way down the path leading to what Emma could only assume would be Rumplestiltskin's castle. They rode through the forest faster and faster, the wind whipping at their faces and causing Emma's arms to tighten around Regina's waist. Her head lowered, cheek resting against Regina's shoulder. Before she could stop herself from doing it, there was a small smile creeping up on her face as her head lowered to rest against Regina's shoulder. Little did she know that the Evil Queen wore a smile too. Regina couldn't recall the last time that arms held strong to her like this. Granted, they were riding a horse and she was only holding on as instructed, but it actually felt...nice. Warm.

As the morning progressed into the early afternoon, Emma felt the slowing of the horse as Regina pulled back onto the reins. Her head lifted to see why they were slowing down. Before her stood a large castle in the midst of the mountains.

"We're here," Regina said as the clicked her tongue against her teeth to push the horse forward in a slow trot toward the front of the castle. In that moment, a figure stood in front of the door to the castle with his arms waving just a bit.

"We have company. Be prepared," Regina muttered, her hand coming up with preparations to demolish the person standing in their way.

"Oh! No, he's with me. He was out here earlier to search for answers while I convinced you to come with me," Emma smiled just a little, but quickly faded when Regina did not return one.

"And you forgot to mention that little detail? You're not very good at this, are you?" Regina rolled her eyes just a little as they approached Hook standing before them.

"Swan! You made it!" Hook flashed his typically charming grin as the horse came to a stop.

"Swan, huh? I like that better than Emma," Emma slipped off first, boots thudding onto the ground before she immediately turned to offer her hands to Regina to help her own as well. Regina reached out to take hold of Emma's hands, carefully sliding down to the ground as well. As she stepped forward to catch herself, Regina's body brushed against Emma's.

"You okay?" Emma whispered, holding on to Regina's hands carefully while she steadied herself. The two stood for seconds longer than most, but neither of them seemed to notice it. Hook, however, stood there with eyebrows raised. Regina pulled her hands away slowly, not allowing herself to look at Emma for too long. She couldn't allow herself to hope. Her fairytale ending died with Daniel.

"Fine. Thank you," she replied before turning to face Hook. Emma quickly did the same, forcing a large smile on her face.

"Hey, Hook. Find anything interesting?"

"Did you?" he asked with a small chuckle, but the response he received with the look that Emma gave him was all of the signs he needed that his jokes were unwanted. He brought his hooked hand up to his jaw to scratch against the stubble.

"Depends, love. Is there anything you're looking for?"

"A hat. A brown hat, specifically. Rumplestiltskin said that it was in the attic…" Hook nodded just a little and motioned toward the hat.

"Yeah. I know where the door is. Come with me," he said as he turned, walking into the castle without bothering to even look and see if they were behind them. They would be, there was no doubt of that. Quickly, they moved down the hall to the secret alleyway that led to a stairwell that would lead them to the attic. Regina didn't hesitate to go up the stairs, taking the lead as Hook reached out to stop Emma for a moment.

"Swan. What is this hat? What are you planning?" Emma leaned in to whisper to him, her eyes locked with his.

"This hat will take us to another realm and we will be able to find someone who can teach Regina white magic. I think this is gonna work." Hook shook his head just a little.

"No, Swan. You can't go to another realm. That's too dangerous. I can't let you go…" he whispered, his hook wrapping around her arm. Emma was quick to pull away, her eyes angry and her jaw clenched.

"You can't stop me, Killian. I have to do this. It's our only chance to save her life and I intend on taking it. I can't go back to Storybrooke without her. Henry needs both of his mothers, so this is not up for discussion. You stay here and be ready to help get us back to Storybrooke, but don't try to stop me from going. I will save her life, or I will die trying," she replied, not giving him the opportunity to respond before she started up the stairs after Regina.

"I think this is it," Regina said as Emma stepped inside the attic. Her eyes moved over the hat that Regina held on to and couldn't help but to let out a small sigh of relief. At least it wasn't hard to find.

"All right, let's do this then," she slapped her hands together and rubbed them just a bit as Regina lowered the hat down onto the ground. Regina grinned just a little and looked to Emma.

"Miss Swan, this is what I do best." With the flick of a wrist, purple smoke exuding from her fingers as the hat widened into a well-lit portal opening. The power of the hat brought about a wind gust strong enough to push them back. Emma and Hook fell back against the wall for a moment as Regina offered out her hand.

"Are you ready?" Regina asked, and Emma nodded, moving to take a step up to the hat.

"Swan, you're sure about this?" Hook asked, holding on to the wall he was pushed up against. Emma looked over at him and nodded slowly as she took a hold of Regina's hand.

"I'm sure. We'll see you soon." And with that, the two women stepped forward into the portal, leaving Hook only with a portal that slowly closed up as the familiar faces disappeared.

"God speed, Emma," he whispered as the portal closed behind both of them.