Yes, it has been ages and I'm sorry. A hectic real life for the past couple of months I'm afraid. But! The good news is I have several chapters ready from my original draft for this story pretty much finished as we are about to meet Snow.

Thanks for all the messages asking about this fic. It's not abandoned and as I have just said we are back to the original draft now so hopefully be able to get them to you much faster for a while at least.

Enjoy xx

xxxxx

When Regina and her entourage reached the queen's private rooms silence prevailed. A spark and the fire was lit, Regina taking to her chair and staring moodily into the flames. Emma took her place, kneeling by the queen's side. Greta stood in the middle of the room, claws clicking when they caught the stone floor as she stood by Red.

"Girl, come and change yourself," Regina requested, the nervous energy of the girl's animal form too much for her to handle on top of such a stressful evening. They all watched as the wolf came to a stop before the queen and was soon back in her human form, kneeling naked, head hung and shoulder's stooped.

"Look at me," Regina placed a gentle finger under the girl's chin and lifted her head so they were eye to eye. "I am sorry for what happened to your mother, if he is guilty, which I do believe he is," she quickly reassured the girl. "Then I will issue a fitting punishment," the queen promised. "Now, you will sleep with me tonight, yes?"

Emma frowned, not wholly on-board with the queen using the girl for her body tonight, even, especially given the stress their mistress had been under that night. She flicked a glance at Red who shrugged, neither of them had the right to question the queen but the older wolf was not overly concerned.

"Yes, Mistress," Greta replied, too dejected to really care what happened, her anger had drained and left her emotionally exhausted.

"You may leave us, wolf" Regina commanded Red. "Rest, tomorrow will be a busy day." Red ducked her head in acknowledgement then headed swiftly to her own rooms, the door to the queen's chambers closing with a muted thunk behind her. "Look at you," the queen examined the girl's face more closely and saw a slightly bloodied nose and a dark bruise forming on her jaw where the man had landed a lucky shot. Greta gasped as a tingling warmth invaded her skin and bone under the queen's hand and the dull ache faded.

"Thank you, Mistress," she sighed, leaning into the touch, not realising how much that had been bothering her now she was in her human form.

"Only I get to mark my slaves," Regina purred as she used her tongue to clean the dried blood off the girl's skin. Emma watched, fascinated by the exchange, it was a confusing gesture, at once maternal but also incredibly erotic, or so the slave thought.

Greta tried not to pant as she was cleaned, her heart racing at the surprisingly gentle touch of her mistress.

"Now come," Emma stood a second after the queen rose gracefully to her feet, the girl a moment behind when she was clear that she was included in the command. The slaves followed their mistress to her bed chamber.

"Wolf, on the bed," Regina ordered and the girl obediently crawled into the middle of the bed, eyes on the older women as they watched her, body curling as she settled herself, waiting.

"Undress me," Emma stepped behind her mistress, fingertips searching for the opening to the queen's sheer gown. The queen had dressed herself in it using her magic and the slave was unsure how to begin to remove it.

"Take it off the shoulder's, then it will slide off," Regina instructed her pet whose sure fingers soon managed to free the garment and send the black silk slithering down her torso to be stopped by her hips. Emma stroked her palm across the side of queen's lower ribs before gently persuading the fabric over the soft curves and sending it cascading to the floor. Regina smiled to herself as she stepped out of the black pool of silk, her pet showed such finesse in even the smallest tasks and it continued to please her, greatly.

Emma stepped back now that the queen was clad only in a simple silk slip, the one that she had been wearing earlier. A click and her mistress had summoned the same robe and smoothly wrapped it around her svelte form, the thin material clinging to her curves and she did not miss the appreciative glint in her slave's eyes before they deferred to her own.

They stood together, watching the figure still curled up on the bed.

"She needs to sleep, help her," the queen commanded her pet but Emma was confused.

"Mistress?" The slave questioned the order.

"Fuck her until she sleeps," Regina explained, perplexed. Did she really need to state the obvious?

"Are you sure that will really help?" Emma dared question the queen but was concerned for the girl who didn't appear to be listening, head facing them but eyes closed.

"Well, it always helped when Red couldn't sleep," Regina reasoned and Emma's brows shot into her hairline. "It took her mind off the night terrors." Emma worked really, really hard to withhold the bark of hysterical laughter that threatened to escape. Only her mistress would see fucking her slave into a sleepless oblivion a cure for nightmares. Maybe that was why Red had seemed relatively unconcerned by the queen's request that the girl sleep with her? A mental shake and the blonde refocused.

"I'm just not familiar with what might be considered an act of comfort, Mistress," Emma admitted. Regina opened her mouth to enquire if she'd never felt a mother's comfort but then just a quickly realised that the blonde's mother had abandoned her. "And I think she's already asleep," the slave nodded towards the bed and the girl's chest could be observed rising and falling in relaxed motions.

Regina frowned at the scene.

"Shall I take her back to her room, Mistress?" Emma asked, not wanting Greta's involuntary action to attract a punishment from the queen.

"No," Regina sighed, "It is still early, let her sleep." Once again Emma's brows shot skyward at her mistresses behaviour. "Come, I need a drink." The blonde was set to follow the queen back into the other room and did so as her mistress swept before her, strides freer now that she was unconstrained by her formal gowns.

"Brandy!" Regina ordered and took a seat on her day bed, bringing her legs up and stretching back against the plush cushioning. It was rare that she got time to herself these days but she trusted Red and Braxas to see that the evening ran smoothly for her guests. She was determined to relax until court came into session in the morning.

Emma watched the queen from the corner of her eye and was still amazed at how graceful the woman was, whether reclining as she was now or breaking a man's neck. The combination had seduced the blonde past the point of comprehension, all she knew was that she was beginning to crave the queen.

Brandy served in a fine crystal glass was placed on the table next to her and Regina reached up and lifted it to her lips, throat contracting as she took a generous gulp.

"Sit," Emma did as she was bid and knelt by queen's hip and settled herself, the woman's mood leaving her curious. "Tell me about your childhood." The blonde couldn't help the flinch that was triggered by the request, withholding it as best she could but she doubted her mistress had missed it.

"Tell me." It wasn't a question so Emma inhaled as tried to buy herself some time. "Now, slave," a slender hand slid around the blonde's throat and squeezed firmly, their eyes meeting as Regina caressed the soft skin under her fingers.

"I was abandoned when I was only a few weeks old," Emma began, dropping her eyes from the queen's, her fingers still curled around the slave's neck but the pressure had gone. "It was winter. A boy found me and I went into care, an orphanage, until they could find a home for me." The blonde frowned but continued so she didn't piss off the queen. "It seems I wasn't an easy kid, even as a baby," Emma shrugged. "I bounced around lots of homes, some better than others but only a couple are places I wouldn't have minded staying," she admitted and Regina frowned. Even she understood how important it was for a child to have stability.

"As soon as I was old enough I got out, least then I could choose who I spent time with. How to look after myself," another shrug and the blonde fell silent. It had been a brief but telling story.

"How did you learn to fight so well?" Regina questioned, sipping from her glass and idly reaching out to run her hand through soft blonde hair. A snort from the blonde before she spoke, unconsciously leaning into the hand petting her as she relaxed.

"I quickly figured out that the safest places to sleep were up on the roofs, if you got lucky there would be an air vent too, to keep you warm," Emma continued. Regina stayed silent but this conversation was revealing a lot about her slave, explaining her resilience and self-preservation instincts. Regina quickly realising how much she had underestimated the young woman when she had first arrived. "I found a good place to sleep which was hard to get to but pretty safe, it overlooked a martial arts gym," the blonde looked up at her mistress to gauge the understanding of the term and saw a relatively blank look on the queen's place. "A training room, for mixed fighting disciplines," a nod as the explanation was accepted and a light tug of her hair indicated that the slave should continue.

"When it got dark they had the lights on and I could see in and I used to spend hours watching them practice. I used to mimic them to keep warm." Another silence fell as Emma recalled how much she hated the cold and even though her situation here wasn't ideal she had food, warmth and a roof over her head. But she was a slave in every sense of the word, quite a trade-off but at least she was alive.

"I appreciate the irony," Regina commented as she correctly guessed what her pet was thinking. Her words earned her a wry smile from the blonde before green eyes looked away.

"Anyway," a cough to clear her throat and break the slight tension that had formed then the blonde continued, "I used to practice the different moves for the different disciplines the guy taught there. He musta seen me watching, one day after class he opened the window and went all Karate Kid on me and said he'd let me join his classes if I wanted. For actual free," the memory made Emma smile and she unconsciously slipped back into the more informal speech pattern of her youth.

"Kar-a-tey kid?" Regina asked, the term alien to her and the blonde looked up, noting the way the queen's nose wrinkled when she was confused. It was a gesture that would normally be blocked, hidden behind her queenly mask but she felt relaxed around the slave, more than she probably should but the alcohol was running through her veins, mixing with her magic in a very heady combination.

"Yes, a movie char-, a fictional character. A boy who was taught to defend himself by this old guy who turns out to be a master warrior," Emma summarised. "But yeah, he was decent. Let me use the locker room showers and didn't perv. Never tried it on, he was a gentleman. One of the nice guys." Regina didn't quite get the lingo the slave was using but caught her meaning. The man had not been a sexual predator.

"How old were you?" The words were surprisingly soft but Regina felt the need to know more about the enigmatic blonde.

"Fifteen," Emma mumbled. A finger under her chin forced her to raise her her head, brown eyes looking down at her. "It seems you collect lost souls, Mistress."

"It seems I do," Regina murmured and bent her head, lips pressing down on the blonde's, both women moaning at the contact. It had been too long. Too long since Emma had the contact she craved, too long since Regina had had the slave's willing body beneath her.

"Mistress?" Greta had woken and been mortified to find herself asleep in the queen's bed and had hastily removed herself and gone in search of her mistress to offer an apology in whatever form she demanded. The young wolf did not anticipate interrupting the queen and her slave in the midst of a passionate kiss.

Regina bit down on the blonde's tongue as she growled into the kiss. This was not the best day she had ever had! Lifting her head to shoot daggers of ill intent towards the young wolf but she was slightly appeased when the girl dropped to her knees on the rug by the fire, head bowed.

Emma was also a little off-put by the intrusion, she was enjoying having the queen all to herself and the attention had been inmate in a rare way. Not that the blonde craved such time with the queen, when they were alone and her mistress let her guard down. letting Emma kiss her without the underlying hardness that characterised the majority of their encounters. The slave had not come to enjoy such moments, in any way, ever, even a fraction, she tried to convince herself.

"Wolf, wait in my room. On the bed," Greta bobbed her head and did as she was asked, padding back to the queen's chamber. Regina sighed, the mood broken. "Follow me," Emma rose to her feet and followed her mistress into the bedchamber.

"You will watch," the slave's body throbbed with pent up arousal but it seemed there was to be no release for her tonight. Instead, she was cuffed to the wall and forced to endure the sight of the queen fucking the young wolf into an oblivious sleep before her mistress followed suit. It was a torturous night for the blonde and she had no idea what the next day would bring.

xxxxx

"You are not to speak unless I speak directly to you or give my permission," Regina commanded as she swept down the corridor towards the throne room where she was due to begin the trial. The evening's events nothing but a pleasurable history for the queen as her slaves followed her, both Great and Emma quiet but for different reasons.

"Yes, Mistress," Emma murmured softly, the slave still on edge, exhausted from lack of sleep and extremely unsatisfied.

"I am not sure how this will go but there will be objections, I'm sure." Regina sighed, this could be a long day. "He is arrogant and a fool and I intend to teach him a lesson." With that the Queen burst into the throne room, Emma on her heels. It was empty except for the Queen's royal guard. Hand-picked men who she knew were loyal to her and whose price was not within that of mortal men.

It wasn't long until a commotion in the corridor announced her guests arrival. Braxas leading the party of approximately ten men inside. Regina sat straight in her throne as she eyed the new arrivals. There was the Count and his son. The younger man deemed himself attractive but he disgusted Regina with his arrogance and he was sandwiched between four guards. They were accompanied by their consul, an elderly man who had once served the king, prior to his demise.

Moments later the queen's counsel entered the room and took their allotted seats to listen to the trial and later cast their vote. Red led this group and came to take her usual place beside the throne.

"So, Count, welcome." Regina spoke coldly.

"Your Majesty," he dropped to one knee in deference and after a long hesitation, despite his precarious position, his son did the same. Regina snarled internally but her face gave nothing away. The animal had no respect for women.

"We have matters to discuss." Regina waved her hand and Red handed some scrolls to her Queen. Red knelt and presented the papers to Regina and the queen made a show of reading them over.

She handed them back to Red who passed them to the Count. It took a minute before he registered what he was reading.

"Your wolf accuses him of murder? On what grounds? How can you prove what she says?" It seemed the night had given him courage to defend his son.

"Silence!" Emma flinched at the queen's tone. It was hard and icy and sent shivers down her spine, she was thankful that it had not yet been directed at her. "The charges are legitimate. I have gathered more evidence besides the girl's. Red!" Red pushed open the doors to the throne room and ushered in a small group of people of varying shapes and sizes including an old man and a girl around eleven or twelve.

"Who hunted you?" The Queen questioned softly. All fingers raised to point at the Count's son and his father turned to face his flesh and blood.

"It's all lies!" The man blustered. "How dare you accuse me! These charges are false!" He declared angrily.

"False?" Regina calmly raised her brow. "So, you didn't chase these people," Emma noticed how she stressed the word, "through my forests with the intent to hunt them down, to kill them?" Her voice was so calm and soft, it scared Emma.

"No!" The Count's son defended himself. "We were hunting deer, they just got in the way." He defended himself and at that the count turned back to him.

"Oh, they 'got in the way'?" Regina purred.

"Yes!" The man agreed.

"So, they had to run for their lives, pursued by horse and hound, were shot at and injured so that my healers had to waste time treating their injuries?" The volume of the Queen's voice had increased word by word until it was bouncing off the walls of the throne room. The Count flinched at the now undisguised anger that was apparent but his son glared at the Queen, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Emma felt like smacking it off herself but held herself back, curious to see what the Queen would do.

"There were no deer, my Queen," Red stepped forward and spoke up confidently. "When the crimes were reported I went back over the trail and once these men," she practically spat the word out, "came across these people minding their own business in the forest they abandoned the deer and tracked them instead. The trails clearly split off every time. There is one exception," she growled and Emma could sense the change in her friend and the room tensed. "But she's not here to tell the tale, but this is." Red pulled a fur pelt from under her cloak and held it reverently in her hands. "This time the hunt began right outside her door, they ambushed her when she returned home with her daughter," she looked to Greta who's face was closed off except for the unnerving yellowing of her eyes and sharp canines peeking over her top lip.

Red turned to Greta. "She says they were ambushed returning from town, her mother pushed her into a tree trunk to protect her, she led them away from her but never came home. Her description matches those of the other reports that have been filed over the years. Unmarked horses and clothing but the descriptions match," Red confirmed with a growl. She had been waiting a long time to bring the until now unidentified hunter to justice but there had never been enough evidence, enough of a trail to track them down.

Regina hissed, she actually hissed, like a snake about to strike she launched herself from her throne and it terrified Emma, and the rest of the room it seemed, everyone cowering before their ruler as she stood in front of her throne.

"Your majesty, I must protest, this is out -." The Count spoke up.

"Silence!" The yell was accompanied by a burst of flame that hit the ceiling and spread along the stone buttress' before vanishing.

Regina was beyond furious, she would be having words with Red about this later, as she caught her wolf's eye the young brunette ducked her head, knowing what was coming her way. But she felt that she had needed the concrete proof Greta had surprisingly provided before being able to find the culprit of the other crimes.

"You picked on a mother and her child then skinned her as a trophy?" The Queen roared now only a pace from the Count's son. She flicked her gaze to his father who she was pleased to see was mirroring her disgust. "My wolf found her skin in your quarters you despicable excuse for a man. I see you did not know of this?" Regina questioned the older man, and he shook his head vehemently.

"No! Your Majesty, I would never condone that kind of behaviour," his appalled tone was genuine and Regina nodded.

"Then you will not share his punishment," she confirmed as she stared the man in his eye. "We are going to have ourselves a hunt!" Emma was both horrified and fascinated. Then shocked as the guards around the room began pounding their spears in a rhythmic beat and began howling. Emma watched as Red then Greta threw their heads back and joined in, the sound chilling her.

"I sentence you to die the way your victims died, run down by the hunt," Regina intoned, sealing the accused's fate. "All who agree?" The queen watched as her council voted in the majority, acknowledging that justice in the kingdom was harsh but fair. "Then it is done. The hunt will commence at noon. Braxas, release the accused five miles from the palace, it is only fair that he should have a head start," Regina's smile was wicked but she was looking forward to shedding some blood today.

"Please, Your majesty!" The Count cried out in anguish as the sentence was passed.

"No, Count. Be grateful that I am sparing your life and the lives of you other miscreants. Send his accomplices to the mines," the decree was absolute and the guilty parties were escorted from the chambers, protesting their innocence and pleas for mercy, pleas that fell on deaf ears.

xxxx

Next on The Collar

"I come seeking reparations against my kingdom," Regina announced as she calmly surveyed the other members of the greeting party. Snow White in a ridiculous frilly gown and Prince James in an equally impractical outfit.

"On what grounds?" Snow challenged.

"Murder." The Queen informed the other monarch.