so i know you all are really hating emma right now because she's a brat, but mayyyybe one day she and regina will get along ;) i want to hear more reviews, tell me what you're thinking! good, bad or ugly. but not too ugly, because i'm writing this for fun and my grammar is all over the place, i know this. alas, i write fanfiction from feeling, not from a grammatical stand point. if it sounds good when you read it in your head, who cares? also, i'm probably going to mix both of their POVs in some chapters because it just makes the scene more fun to write xD review review review, please!

Regina had never been one for wine. Cora's was always too bitter for her liking; but the wine Midas was serving tasted sweet and the supply was never ending. It was growing late into the night but she didn't care, she had stopped caring by her second glass. David was enjoying Midas' wine too, she could see it in the permanent grin that seemed to be plastered to his face as he laughed and visited with old friends.

Inside the castle was just as grand as David promised it would be. There was a dance floor surrounded by large round tables for guests, adorned with intricate candelabrums in the middle of them giving the area a perfect soft light. Each place setting had gold dishes and wine goblets with flower petals scattered over the table cloth. She'd been to a few events with Cora before, but nothing like this. And of course, she never was able to enjoy herself, but David was making sure she did now.

The judgement on her had eased up a bit as the party progressed and people grew bored of giving her looks and instead focused on their own over-indulgence. Regina and David had been seated at a table with a few other royal couples and she had been unsure of it at first but they turned out to be decent. One was a quiet man named Thomas and a bubbly blonde named Ella who never seemed to stop talking, but Regina was buzzed enough to smile and have a reply for her when addressed.

Despite their practice, Regina hadn't danced with David yet. He had looked at her in offering a few times when the orchestra played a slow waltz but she would shake her head 'no' and give him an apologetic smile. She was enjoying sitting with him too much and he seemed to understand that she was finally at ease and that was a big enough step for tonight. For a while she forgot her sadness and her past, she allowed herself to be his Queen and pretended that it was real. The people they were with didn't know any different and it felt nice to be a part of something.

The alcohol had her feeling warm and she found her thoughts were beginning to betray her. She'd sneak a glance at David, realizing just how attractive she found him. She supposed she'd always found him handsome, but never let herself dwell on it until their was wine involved. He was, though. She felt guilty at the fact she compared he and Daniel. They were so different, but the feelings she was experiencing now were quite similar to when she first met her stableboy.

She loved Daniel so much and still missed him now, thus the attraction to David left her utterly confused. It wasn't technically wrong, he was her husband after all, but it felt like a betrayal to her fiancés memory. She supposed David was probably doing the same with she and his memory of Snow; so even if he knew what she was thinking, she felt sure he'd understand.

So Regina let herself steal glances at the King, admiring the broadness of his shoulders and the slight stubble on his hard jaw. He was bigger than Daniel was, she supposed the age difference had allowed that. Daniel had been the same age as she, fully matured physically but not as filled out as David whose arms and shoulders were thicker and chest seemed harder. David had a swagger about him that only age could bring as well, a sense of control and maturity that she found she liked. He had an easy confidence that she was jealous of, wondering if she'd ever be as comfortable in her own skin.

"I take it the honeymoon phase still isn't over," Ella leaned towards Regina at the table with a smirk and wine tinged cheeks after catching her watching her husband. By her guess Ella was the same age as she, though she acted much younger. Perhaps not younger, but much more free and much less tainted by life. She wished for a second she could be so carefree. For now, she would pretend.

"What do you mean?" Regina gave her a smile though she didn't have a clue what the blonde wasn't talking about. She watched her raise an eyebrow in the direction of David and Thomas who were talking in words she couldn't quite hear, making Regina's eyes flick over at him before back at Ella.

"Don't play coy!" The young woman laughed and the mischievous smile dominated her features once more before she spoke again, "King David is the most desired bachelor across the kingdoms...well, was," She flashed a toothy smile at Regina, "Is he as divine as everyone imagines him to be?"

Regina felt a flush creep up her neck as she smiled embarassedly, which Ella mistook as confirmation and she giggled again. "No need to be embarrassed Regina! When Thomas and I first got married we didn't leave our bed for a week."

"A week?" She raised a brow at Ella's admission. She had a pretty good idea of what happened when you slept with someone, but then again she'd never even gotten close. She'd felt urges to do more than kissing with Daniel though, and have been given the chance she probably would've.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," The blonde reached for her wine glass theatrically and flashed a glance at their husbands, "The first few months are just glorious, aren't they? Finding out what each other likes...and what you don't like...and what you really like," She emphasized the words and made them both laugh, holding a gloved hand over her mouth, "Oh Regina, forgive me. You're just so easy going, I forgot you were Queen."

"Don't worry, I forget all of the time," She admitted with a roll of her eyes and they laughed again. She imagined she and Ella could be good friends if given the chance and she hoped they would get along as well the next time they saw one another. There was a lightness about her that helped Regina forget her worries for the moment.

Regina and her newfound friend almost didn't notice as David and Thomas rose from the table, glancing up when their husbands came to their sides respectively. She saw Thomas murmur something to Ella before kissing her sweetly for a long moment and suddenly she wished she and David had what the couple beside them did. Awkwardly, she found her husband was watching her watch the couple when she turned her head to look up at his presence.

"Thomas and I are going to greet Midas and a few friends of ours, are you okay here?" He pressed a hand to the back of her chair and leaned down to speak to her and his cologne made her senses stir.

"Of course," She gave him a smile at how genuinely he was looking at her to make sure she felt comfortable. He was a good man.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes," He smiled back at her before making her breath catch in her throat as he leaned his face closer to hers, pressing his lips to her forehead before raising from his bent over position and following Thomas. It was a sweet gesture that left her more scattered than she cared to admit, but she was sure he only did it to keep up appearances in front of the affectionate couple they were seated with. That had to be it.

"You know we all loved Snow, but I'm really happy you've found someone David," Thomas handed the flask back to him and David took another swig before smiling genuinely at Thomas. His friend meant well, but he was much to blinded by his own love for Ella that he assumed everyone else's relationships were the same.

"Thank you," He replied and he truly meant it. It wasn't that didn't care for Regina, or even not find her attractive, but he just wasn't ready. Was he? She looked stunning tonight and the the more she drank the more he would catch her looking his way. He even noticed the way she watched Thomas and Ella with longing eyes and he understood she wanted that. He missed having that, too.

Still, Snow lingered in the back of his mind. He knew it had been years, but was it fair for him to move on when she couldn't? Besides, it had only been six months since Regina's fiance had died and David knew she was not done grieving him. He was probably thinking too much into things, but he couldn't deny the pull he felt towards his young wife that she was obviously feeling too.

"It seems she and Ella have hit it off quite nicely," His friend added as they leaned against the wall of the castle and observed the crowded dance floor, "We should make plans to visit each other. Ella feels quite isolated sometimes, I'd imagine they have quite a bit in common."

"I'll speak with Regina. She can be quite shy, but I think it would do her well to have a friend in this crowd," David nodded in agreement, "Just between you and me, she and Emma don't get along very well and I feel she could use someone to talk to."

"Well we both know Ella is good at that," Thomas grinned and elbowed him as they both chuckled, "So Emma is having a hard time with you moving on?"

"She is," He sighed at the thought of his daughter. The fact that he didn't go after her to talk to her earlier had worried him a bit. He understood how she must be feeling but she also had to respect Regina and give her a chance. Despite the fact that Regina was his new wife, he knew Emma's mother would've never wanted Emma to be so ugly to someone. "I feel torn between understanding Emma and defending Regina. Regina gave up much to become a part of our family and Emma has never given her a chance. Still, I know it must be hard for Emma adjusting to another woman being in my life, we're all each other has had for five years now."

"It must be hard," His friend replied with a concerned nod, "Uh oh, Abigail alert."

David groaned inwardly. And here the night had been going so well. He glanced up to see Abigail with her signature smug expression slinking his way and braced himself for the onslaught of irritation he knew he was about to feel, "Hope she's here for you this time," He muttered towards Thomas, who only chuckled at the fact they both know that wasn't true.

"David, it's lovely to see you again," Abigail approached him, running a hand up his chest in a manner that would seem friendly to the onlooking eyes, but he knew she had an ulterior motive. He'd had to avoid her at every function he'd attended since Snow's death or else she was hanging off of him, causing gossip to spread like wildfire that there was something going on between them. David had tried every way imaginable to express his lack of interest in her, but he did not want to be rude. Especially considering who her father was.

"And you, Abigail," He forced a polite smile, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"He's taken now, Abby," Thomas chirped to which she only threw him a glare. David had to suppress a laugh at how blunt Thomas could be at times. He and Abigail had basically grown up together, their families being friends for generations. He'd thank him for that comment later.

"Trust me I've heard all about his new wife," Abigail gave a roll of her eyes and drew her lips into an unattractive pout, "You poor thing, I heard she's awful," She pawed at the front of his suit in emphasis of her words.

"Where did you hear that?" David chuckled, letting it be known by his reaction that there was no truth to the rumors. The women in the circles Abigail ran with were the same ladies of the court that would do or say anything to wreck a marriage or tear somebody down. He remembered countless stories Snow would tell him on the way home from events such as this of what these women were capable of.

"Let's just say it's getting around the kingdom how neglected you are," Abigail raised an eyebrow and gave him a suggestive look as she ran a hand down his arm, "Dance with me, David."

"I don't feel like it right now," He simply smiled and shook his head at her desperate attempts, trying to shrug his arm out of her grip by removing it from his pocket but instead she clung to it harder, "Abigail..." He sighed.

"Come on David, are you telling me you don't remember that time here a few years ago?" She purred and David could feel Thomas' eyes grow wide. Here we go.

"You two...?" His friend spoke up then from his leaned back position against the wall near David, his head popping into David's peripheral vision.

"No," David replied firmly with a warning glance to Thomas that this was all a part of Abigail's scheme, "We kissed and that was it, I was barely standing I had had so much to drink and so wrapped up in my grief I shouldn't even have been out in public."

"You make it sound so cheap," Abigail giggled and reached for his other hand as well, trying to pull him towards her. He knew everyone here had had a bit too much to drink, Abigail included, but he was getting frustrated. There wasn't much else he could do to get his point across but push him away from her and he didn't think Midas would take too well to him man handling his daughter.

"Excuse me."

David heard a familiar voice with an edge of assertion to it from behind Abigail and the blonde immediately turned around, stepping to the side and letting go of him. Regina stood in front of them, still looking as exquisite as she did on their way there tonight. Her eyes held an irritation but he sensed it wasn't at him, watching her turn to address Abigail.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but my husband has been asking me for a dance all night," She plastered a fake smile at the other woman and David felt heat rush through him. My god, was this really the same Regina he was married to? She was normally so quiet and non-confrontational, never this bold. "And I suddenly find myself in the mood." Regina added before turning her gaze to David with a hint of a smirk on her lips. He heard Thomas chuckle, undoubtedly at the look on Abigail's face, but he didn't care enough to look. He couldn't pull his eyes off of this new side of his wife he was seeing.

"Gladly, my Queen," David replied, not knowing if he was calling her that for show or for other reasons he'd rather not think about right now. He held out his hand and captured hers, letting her lead him towards the ball room floor before spinning her around to face him and pulling her close, "Thank you for that," He smirked, pressing a hand to her waist and clasping his free hand with hers.

She grinned up at him in a way that made his heart skip a beat, obviously proud of herself, "Now watch me step on your feet and embarrass myself," She joked as they started to move, making them both laugh. David had been so worried about tonight and how he would feel being back at events like this with another woman, but he had fun with Regina. Her confession of nerves at the beginning of the night had only endeared her to him more, for he felt his own anxiety about their public appearance. The dance on the veranda had been for both of them in a way.

"Do you have history with her?" She asked him with a curious gaze as they moved across the floor and he inwardly kicked himself for ever having laid a hand on Abigail.

"I wouldn't call it a history," He began and saw the disappointment flicker in her eyes.

"I'm sorry if I overstepped by pulling you away from her," Regina surprised him, all traces of the bold and jealous woman gone, "I know we didn't enter into this marriage because of love and I will look the other way if you find what you need elsewhere. I just ask that you don't make a fool of me," She looked up at him firmly, the crease in her brow returning. She was so unpredictable, one minute feisty and daring and the next minute insecure and troubled. His heart hurt for her at how much she had been through already to make her this complex at such a young age.

"I would never make a fool of you," He replied, his hand pulling her waist closer to his securely and looking down at her with the most genuine expression he could muster. He watched her brown eyes study his every moment and he had to consciously try to not lose himself in them along with his train of thought, "Regardless of how we entered this marriage, I do not take my vows lightly. I am not the type to have meaningless dalliances and that won't begin now. You have my word."

She looked as if she accepted his answer but he wasn't sure that she believed it, so he pulled her a bit closer to him by the waist and led her silently in the dance. He may not be able to promise her his heart yet, but he could promise her that he'd always be there for her. And judging from her past, he knew she needed him to prove it.

"Did you have a good night tonight, Regina?" David asked as the carriage took off, jostling them both in their seat and nudging them closer together. He sat beside her now without hesitation, his arm stretched over the back of the carriage seat. They were both drunk and tired, smiling lazily at one another.

"I had a wonderful time," She nodded leaned in towards his open side, tilting her head to rest of his shoulder. The taste of red wine was still on her lips as she sighed, her inhibitions down and allowing her to feel so natural in his arms. There had never been a night in her life quite like this one with the beautiful gown and castle and wonderful company. The only thing that would have made it more perfect is if she and David actually shared the relationship they pretended to tonight.

"Me too," He admitted, bringing his left arm that was draped across the carriage seat down around her shoulders, his hand coming to pick up a tendril of her hair to play with, "I used to despise those things, but tonight I actually had fun. I'm grateful we at least get along, if nothing else, you know?"

"Hmm, if nothing else," She murmured tilting her head to the side to look up at him, finding that he was waiting and watching for her reaction. The feeling that maybe she wasn't imagining it all between them crept up in her again by the way he gazed at her. She tried to continuously remind herself that it wasn't real, that he was still in love with Snow and she was not over Daniel. This wouldn't work between them. She tried, but he kept looking at her this way in their moments alone, kept contradicting everything she was using to reason her way out of it.

His gaze glanced down at her lips and for a moment her heartbeat stopped, wondering what it would feel like to kiss him. Would she feel the same warmth she did as when she'd kissed Daniel? The same excitement?

"How did you get the scar on your lip?" He asked instead of pressing his lips to hers, though for some strange reason it felt no less intimate than if he had kissed her. He was asking about her past, asking about her. Taking an interest in her as a person in a way that no one else but Daniel had before.

"I used to sneak out of my home to go riding at night," She began after a moment's hesitation, keeping her head lying on his shoulder as he kept his gaze turned towards hers, their faces only inches apart, "My mother absolutely forbade it, but it was my way of rebelling against her control. One night my childhood horse stumbled on a fallen branch in the path we always took, throwing me off and breaking her leg," She smiled weakly, her eyes glazing over as she stopped focusing on him for a moment and got lost in the memory, "I cut my lip during the fall and my horse couldn't walk, so I ran home and begged my mother to come heal my horse. She transported us to the exact spot where it happened and I realized then that she had been watching me somehow. When I asked her to heal my horse she refused and said I must watch her put it out of it's misery...and for the cut on my lip, she healed it with a scar as a reminder of what happened when I disobeyed her."

"My god," A gentle frown creased David's forehead as he looked back at her. Not with pity, but as if he'd just grew to understand her slightly more. "How could she be so harsh?"

"I found out later that she had placed the fallen tree there," Regina added, a cold, numb expression masking her features, "It was gone when I returned back to the path where it happened the next day and it was far too big for someone to have moved in such a short period of time without magic."

"Forgive me for saying this, but I do hope she doesn't come to visit often," David let out a breath with a troubled frown that warmed her heart. Even if he didn't love her, he at least cared for her. Besides her father who she'd not seen since her wedding, David was the only person that seemed to truly care what happened to her. He was the only person in her life now that she felt she could depend on.

"Thank you," She simply said with a gentle honesty to her voice that caused him to turn his gaze back to her with a curious look.

"For what?"

"For being so kind to me."

David's heart broke in two at the sincerity in her expression and the vulnerability she openly displayed to him. Her soul had been tortured by someone as close to her as her own mother, her heart had been broken by the death of her fiance, and yet there was a pureness and an innocence still inside of her that allowed her to sit here and thank him for simply being kind to her. He'd been bitter for so long over Snow's death and it had been the only truly tragic thing that had happened to him in his life. Yet here a young woman years younger than him, who'd experienced multiple tragedies, was teaching him more about life than he had the wisdom to know.

He brought his right hand up, tracing her jaw line with his finger tips before threading his fingers over the side of her neck and into tresses of her dark hair. Regina brought her left hand up, sliding it over his right forearm and gripping it gently as he stared at her for a long moment. How had she worked her way into his mind in only six months when he'd been alone for five years without being tempted by anyone else? He watched her eyes turn darker, the warm brown color almost appearing black, her lips parting just slightly.

She felt like she couldn't breath as their gazes locked intensely, waiting for him to make the move. Her heart was beating wildly already and their lips had not even touched yet. There was no more thinking, only feeling. Feeling in a way that she never thought she would be able to again. His hand in her hair gently pulled her up closer to him as he lessened the distance between their bodies, keeping his gaze locked on hers until they were so close that their lips were touching and their eyes closed. His stubble grazed her chin when his full lips pressed against her own and held there for a long moment until a sigh escaped her lips at the sensation.

David relished in the sound of contentment that escaped her, bringing his free arm down to wrap around her waist as his other hand remained locked in her hair. She felt warm under his touch and the way she leaned into him chipped away at the walls inside of him. He tilted his head in the opposite direction and kissed her again, feeling both of her hands travel up to his collar to keep him in place. It was there. Something between them, it was definitely there, and he felt sure they both realized it now.

Still, despite what they felt pulling them closer to one another, there was something keeping them apart. Something they were both aware of for their own different reasons. He ended the kiss slowly but kept his forehead pressed against hers, their lips not even an inch apart in silent understanding, "I.." He began to explain himself, but he didn't have to before a soft voice whispered back to him.

"I know."