Thank you for so many detailed reviews for the last chapter. I was very happy with it and I think it did what it needed to do. As it was so short and as I explained part of a longer section of the story here is the other 'half' of that for your reading pleasure.

I hope the last chapter showed that we have now reached a major turning point in the Swan Queen relationship. Only the privileged few know what I intended to do next so well done to those who were thinking along the same lines as me. It's a hard thing to do as I'm a little crazy when it comes to my fics. I like to be unpredictable if it suits the story.

Crimson Bond readers, you will be getting your next chapter as soon as I finish writing super hot 3-way lesbian vampire sex, it's hard work but will be up as soon as it's done ;)

Thanks again, L'il D

(please forgive any typo's it's late here in chilly England and I'm tired)

xxx

Emma lay there highly conscious of the atom bomb of a witch sleeping next to her. It seemed the brunette had fallen asleep relatively quickly since her pet had joined her in the bed, Emma stared into the blackness, willing her mind to be silent and let her sleep until eventually she too succumbed to the stresses of the day and slept.

xxxxxxx

When Emma woke light was filtering through the drapes and she was alone. She wasn't surprised that her mistress had already left the bed, and the chambers by the sound of things. Last night had been, well fucking weird, was her only way of describing it. A stretch to test the soreness of her back left the slave puzzled, it didn't hurt at all and by all rights it should have been hurting like hell today.

Emma had learned not to question too much in her new life as it only led to pain or a headache so she left the queen's bed and went to dress in her own room, half-heartedly selecting her clothes. The silence was oppressive and without distraction her mind couldn't help but wander to the events of the past few day. She had parents. She was not an orphan. 'How will it affect you?' The words of her mistress ran on repeat in her head but Emma didn't know the answer. She didn't know what the hell to think! A growl and she kicked out at the sturdy dresser only to let out a volley of curses as she underestimated the protection given by her boots as her toes began to throb. That coupled with the dull ache of her wounded stomach just added to the crapper of a day this was turning out to be.

"For fucks sake!" The blonde snarled to herself. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" A sigh and she focused on getting dressed so she could leave and find the queen. That was going to be weird and awkward, she thought. Fuck knows what had been up with her mistress last night, it was totally out of character for her not to punish the slave for even minor transgressions. Last night Emma had been taken the role of aggressor and had not been punished as she should have been. It was a sign of weakness from the queen but then again maybe she had just been more lenient due to the revelations about Emma's parents? Even so it was out of character, weak.

It was a weakness Emma had never indulged in during work or play. If a slave disobeyed or broke from their role then they were punished. Simple as. It kept things clear and boundaries strong and defined. The blonde shook her head as she left the queen's room, what the fuck had been going on last night? Was the queen feeling guilty? It seemed unlikely, she had not expressed any regret during their conversation yesterday, simply laid out the facts, there had been no remorse, no apology so no guilt?

Emma stalked through the palace, a scowl firmly entrenched, knowing it was likely that in order to reassert her dominance the queen was likely to have some form of punishment in mind for her and it could be extreme. So, she did what she did best and threw her walls back up, knowing she should be able to handle pretty much whatever her mistress had to throw at her and if not -, well she would either survive or die.

It was with that mindset that she reached the atrium of the palace and paused to try and figure out where the hell the queen could be. Emma had already passed by the throne room which was empty and was thinking her mistresses study was the next best bet.

"The Queen is in the training yards," Emma was startled by a voice behind her. Mostly she was left alone in her wanderings, the palace populace having learned from the mistakes of others to leave her be apart from nods and smiles of polite greeting. It seemed that Emma was now well known to have the queen's ear on a lot of matters so her citizens seemed to think it wise to stay in the blonde's good books. "Hi," Thera, the amazon guard saved by that exact behaviour, grinned as she greeted the blonde.

"Uh, yes. She was there about ten minutes ago," the guard informed the slave before looking awkwardly around the hallway. "I can take you there?" She offered with what Emma could only call a hopeful look.

"No, I'll find her myself," the blonde muttered. "Trust me, stay out of the way," she warned.

"Yeah, the Queen did seem in rather a bad mood -," Thera mused before fully taking in the set of the slave's face and finally connecting the dots. "Oh shit!" Emma raised a brow as the guard swore. "Um, yeah. Third yard from here. I'll um, catch you later?"

"I doubt it," Emma replied coldly before turning on her heel and striding towards the barracks.

"If I can help at all -," Thera had jogged to catch up with the slave who stopped dead and turned to look at the well meaning young woman.

"Look, I appreciate that you're trying to help and all but seriously, if you feel like you owe me anything stay away from the Queen right now. Alright?" Emma growled, exasperated by the friendly persistence. "It's not going to be pretty and I've more chance of making it out alive if you're not there to piss her off!" Emma hissed.

"Oh." Was the only response. "Well I'll just -," an awkward gesture of the guard's thumb and she walked off in the opposite direction shaking her head and Emma could her the guard berating herself in a non too subtle whisper. What the fuck was up with people here? Couldn't they just leave her the fuck alone? Maybe, just maybe then she would have half a chance of making it to the end of the year alive.

"Emma!" Red called the blonde's attention as she waved. Emma raised her hand in response and quickly crossed the courtyard to where Red was waiting by the start of the wide, paved path leading to the barracks.

"What happened last night?" Was the very first question from the wolf. "She's furious." Red spoke fast and low to avoid being overheard by any of the passing soldiers.

"I can't-," Emma sighed, knowing that Red was only asking out of concern for the slave and their mistress but it was not Emma's place to divulge such information. "Just let me deal with it." Red frowned but nodded, having come to respect the blonde's handling of the queen. "Where's Greta?"

The slave asked, not wanting the young wolf to get caught up in anything.

"With the Queen," Red confirmed with a frown.

"Let's go," Emma inhaled and cricked her neck before striding out towards her mistress. "If you can, get Greta out of there, this could get really nasty."

"What the fuck happened, Emma?" Red reached out and caught the blonde's elbow, dragging her to halt.

"Nothing," Emma spat. "Nothing happened. She didn't do anything and that's why she's pissed because she should have and she didn't." Red didn't fully understand, although she did appreciate the slave's concern for Greta, but kept pace with Emma as she resumed walking. "If she takes it out on you, I'm sorry." The blonde surprised herself with the sentiment but on retrospective analysis found it to be genuine.

"Ah, I can take it," Red threw her friend a wink, "wolf, remember?"

"Yeah, one that doesn't know the right end of a sword," Emma teased but her heart wasn't in it. She tensed when they finally reached the yard, the queen was talking to one of the guard captains in the covered walkway that lined the training square. The monarch had found several areas lacking in the morning's training demonstration. Her pet would have had little trouble besting even the more seasoned soldiers and that was troubling.

Speaking of -. Regina had been able to sense every mood swing experienced by the blonde so far that day and it had been an eclectic mix. As her slave and wolf approached the queen noted the set of the blonde's shoulders and the detached expression she wore. A curt dismissal of the captain left her alone with her pets. A wave of the queen's hand and the air shimmered, forming an almost invisible barrier between the small group and the outside world.

"You may speak freely, we cannot be overheard," Regina confirmed as both Red and her slave stopped a few paces away. Emma immediately dropped to her knees, she had effectively shut down the rebellious, lustful, dominant side of herself and now awaited her punishment. "Look at me," Regina commanded and vacant green eyes lifted to meet her own.

Emma didn't even flinch when her mistresses hand connected with her cheek, sending her head snapping to the side, she simply righted her posture and looked right through the queen. Red and Greta both flinched as the blow struck but neither expected such a stoic reaction from the slave. It was as though she hadn't even felt it. Three sets of eyes were on the blonde's lip that had begun to bleed, small droplets dripping onto the front of her white shirt.

"Leave us," Regina commanded as she stood over the still kneeling blonde. Red gestured to Greta to follow her but was highly unsettled by the vibe the mistress and slave were giving off. Something had shifted, thrown their balance off and this concerned Red, greatly. It was what she had been afraid of, that the queen would become too invested in Emma and everything would fall apart when something went wrong. Or when she killed her. Whether on purpose or by accident Red knew it had happened before and it was only her own wolf constitution that had kept her alive this long

Xxxxxx

"Fuck, not now!" Emma snarled as Thera suddenly appeared from behind the stable block she was walking towards.

"Are you leaving?" The amazon questioned but when the slave didn't answer the guard wasn't deterred. "I can help?"

"If you think you owe me anything then find me a horse. Now!" The blonde growled and kept walking, trying not to break into a run and attract attention to herself.

"Yeah, uh sure. Anything you want. I was on stable detail for a while -," catching a glare from the slave Thera snapped her mouth shut and didn't speak until they were inside the stable block and a strong looking dark chestnut horse was saddled and ready to go.

"Thank you," Emma broke the silence ans she swung herself up into the saddle. "I appreciate you trying, I really do but I'm not in a position to be making friends," the blonde issued a semi apology, appreciating the efficiency in which the amazon had readied the horse.

"I know, I just wanted to try and repay you," Thera replied with an awkward shrug.

"Well you have but don't let anyone see you here," Emma warned before pulling the hood of her cloak up and urging the horse towards the stable's exit.

"I won't," the guard replied as she watched the slave walk the horse towards the gate in the palace walls that led into the city. She took a leaf out of Red's book and had looked the guards in the eye as she rode past, daring them to stop her. It seemed they feared the queen too much to detain her and Emma was soon headed out of the city. It was moderately busy, not a market day so just normal people doing normal things. To be honest Emma was barely paying attention as she rode, her horsemanship was much better than either Red or the queen knew. The slave had learned that making oneself appear more helpless than you actually were was an excellent survival tool.

Emma let the horse run unchecked, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the queen's palace as possible. She followed the road along the river, the one Red had told her led to the next largest town in the kingdom and could be reached in only a few hours ride. It was now that the programme that had sent city foster kids to a ranch for the summer was paying off. Emma could ride and ride well, it had been the highlight of her fucked-up childhood. She had enjoyed spending time with the horses, they seemed to get her, no words were necessary and it didn't matter what she'd done, just that she was kind to the animals and they in turn gave her their own kind of affection and that was something she had very little of in her life.

As she rode the weather changed, the skies darkened and the blonde sensed a frisson in the air, a storm was coming. Sure enough, about a mile further down the road. the rain began to fall, big fat drops that soaked through her cloak in minutes and added to the already swollen river. The road had a slight incline and soon streams of water were making the ground treacherous underfoot.

"Fuck!" Emma snapped. This was all she fucking needed. All she had wanted was to escape the palace and now it looked like she would be forced to turn back or press forward in the hope of finding shelter. The thought of returning to the queen caused her to urge her horse forward, heels digging into tired flanks but she wasn't going to let a little rain stop her. As she rounded the next bend the blonde was forced to stop.

Emma sat and surveyed the chaos. There had been a landslide, a tree had fallen and caught the carriage as it passed, pinning it down on its side and completely blocking the road.

"Shit!" Emma jumped off her horse and ran to help the men who were trying to get the carriage door open before it tipped off the road and into the river but the tree was partially on top of it and no amount of force seemed to be moving it. The horses had broken free and were milling around skittishly and adding to the danger of the situation.

"It's slipping!" Someone cried and the carriage juddered towards the river as a section of the bank collapsed under the weight of the carriage and tree.

"Worst. Day. Ever!" Emma growled as she stripped off her cloak and ran forward, skidding to a stop on the edge of the riverbank. The latest movement had exposed the other side of the carriage and the door looked accessible. The blonde scrambled down the bank, bracing herself against the exposed tree roots before anchoring herself as firmly as she could and reaching out to try and open the door from the underside.

"Fuck!" Emma was strong for a woman but the door was bent and not budging. Readjusting her position so she was almost directly under the overhanging vehicle she was able to get a better grip and use her feet as a brace. "Push!" The slave urged the occupants of the carriage and at least one par of feet began trying to force the door open from the inside, banging down in a steady rhythm.

The rain was getting worse and Emma couldn't hold on, slicing her hand as it slipped off the handle. Time was running out and the carriage could be in the river in moments. Desperately searching for something to leverage, the blonde spotted a good sized rock with a pointed edge jutting out of the muddy bank. A yank and it was free, the slave began pounding the glass window in the carriage door and was relieved to see it crack then break.

"Thank you!" A male voice called out but it was a woman's body that began to emerge feet first from the wreckage.

"Here, take my hand," Emma called out, not wanting the victims to end up in the river after their escape. She didn't feel anything as the branch hit the back of her head and knocked her unconscious body into the turbulent water.

Xxxx

Next on The Collar

"Where is she?" Regina hissed. Her slave was missing and she was furious. It was bad enough that the woman had defied her but now she was nowhere to be found!

"The collar, Mistress?" Red dared query but was thrown a dark look by the queen.

"I cannot trace her," the monarch admitted and Red looked shocked.

"How -?"

"If I knew how then I would be able to find her you imbecilic mutt!" Regina roared.