"Baby, we have to get up now," Emma whispered in Regina's ear. The late night they had enjoyed together had made her wife even more reluctant to leave the comfort of Emma's arms.
"They don't need us," Regina pouted, not even bothering to open her eyes.
"I'll make it worth your while," Emma told her suggestively.
Regina opened one bleary eye, "I'm listening,"
"I'll owe you a massage, and you can claim it this afternoon while the kids are in lessons."
Regina knew full well what 'massage' usually ended up being code for, "I guess I could be persuaded to get up now," she winked at Emma, flipping back the covers and revealing her toned naked body.
Emma nearly choked, still unable to process just how beautiful her wife really was, "Um…"
"Come along, darling," Regina spoke over her shoulder as she rose from the bed and walked over to the door that led to the bathroom, "we'll save time if we shower together."
"That's complete bull, and you know it," Emma laughed, walking over to join her.
"Are you complaining, dear?"
"Nope, contrary to popular belief, I'm not an idiot," grinned Emma, stepping into the bathroom behind her.
20 minutes later, which was surprisingly quick for them, they were both showered, dressed and ready to start the day. Rather than walk the long corridors down to the main dining hall, they used magic to transport themselves.
The long tables were filled with food, reminding Emma wistfully of watching Harry Potter movies, which was something else she had had to say goodbye to since coming here. Life without ever going to the cinema or watching TV was a strange thought.
Finding their seats next to Mal and Belle, David and Kathryn were opposite them, with the children, they sat and helped themselves to food. Another great use of magic was that the temperature of the food never faltered. If it was meant to be cold, it stayed cold, and if it was meant to be hot it would remain that way.
Breakfast was a long leisurely affair and had a comfortable, social feel to it, but this morning there was an uneasiness in the room. All of them wondered what would be decided at the meeting.
Once the leftover food and empty plates had left the hall, most of the people left the room to start their day. There was no money or currency anymore. It had been voted on that everybody living in the castle would have a job to do, to help with the running of the large estate, and in return would be housed and taken care of. Those who couldn't work, found less physical roles, like reading to the children, or helping them with their studies. It was a system that worked, so far.
The table configuration was changed so that the council members could all face one another, though one less seat was required, now that Blue had made her true alliance known. The circular table made for an easier discussion, and as always, Archie stood up to call the meeting to order.
"This morning, we are here to discuss the ongoing threat that exists, in the form of Blue and Snow. At the moment, things are quiet at Snow's castle, as far as our insider knows, but it is unlikely that Snow would be discussing any plans with anyone other than Blue," Archie informed them, "what we need to determine is what our course of action should be from here on out."
As Archie sat down, discussion broke out around the tables.
Mal spoke up loudly, "if people have something to add, can we please talk to the entire council and not between ourselves?"
"Snow is dangerous, and so is Blue," piped up Granny, "we can't just sit back and wait for them to spring their next attempt at revenge on us."
"I don't think any of us here want to incite violence though," Kathryn cut in, "the last thing we want to do is let our people get drawn into a war, where lives will be lost on both sides."
"I agree," David joined the conversation, "whatever we do must only be targeted at Snow and Blue. Any other casualties would be too high a price to pay."
"Do we have any recent information from our inside person?" Regina asked. The identity of the spy they had, had been kept quiet, for their own safety. Only a select few people knew who it was. It wasn't that the council members were not trusted, but anyone could break under torture if they were captured. It was better not to take the risk, so the fewer people that knew, the better.
"Blue is still having difficulty controlling her magic, but it seems that it is starting to settle within her now, so I can't imagine we have long before she becomes truly powerful," Belle advised them, "as for Snow, she is behaving erratically. She is often found pacing the halls, muttering to herself. Her need for revenge appears to be affecting her sanity."
"Snow was dangerous enough before, but I also saw signs of an unstable woman, when I was there," Emma told them, "and I don't believe that there is a line that she wouldn't cross."
"I don't think Snow will care about civilians being hurt or killed," Regina said with a sigh, "she didn't even care she was hurting her own daughter, and if we hadn't evacuated the town back to the Enchanted Forest, then her own son and grandson would have just been left to die."
"I agree, she's very dangerous. I would vote that we need to take offensive action before she has the chance to strike first," Mal suggested.
"What though? And to what end? Are we aiming to capture her? Or are we planning to kill her. No matter what she's done, I'm not comfortable planning to take a life," Belle told them.
"After everything that she has done, you would still save her," Granny questioned with disgust, "the only reason you are about to give birth to a child, is because she wanted to kill it."
"I don't think any of us should hold ourselves to a standard that Snow has set," Belle argued stubbornly, "just because Snow is willing to kill, doesn't mean that I am comfortable with it."
Granny stared at her, shaking her head slightly, "I understand your point, and I will of course go with the majority vote. However, I just hope it doesn't backfire on us. If we were able to rescue Emma, what's to say someone can't or won't rescue Snow? I still think it would be safer to kill her."
"I think we should vote," Archie suggested, "all those in favour of killing Snow White, raise your hand."
Emma kept her eyes low, fearing the judgement in everybody's faces, as she raised her hand in agreement of killing Snow. Sneaking a glance to Regina, she noticed that she had also raised her hand. Feeling better about her decision, Emma looked up, and saw that she was not alone. A surprising number of what were usually considered to be the hero's, had voted in favour of ending Snow permanently.
After a quick tally, Archie spoke again, "all those in favour of capturing her and sentencing her to life imprisonment?"
The remaining people raised their hands with the exception of David, who turned to Regina, "what about giving her a sleeping curse instead?" he suggested, with a smirk.
Regina was thoughtful, that was actually a fair plan.
"Maybe we should," she agreed, "her 'true love', no longer loves her, so no one would be able to wake her. She wouldn't need to be taken care of in the same way that a prisoner would be. It would actually be a good solution."
"Ok, lets vote again," Archie looked round the table, "all those in favour of a sleeping curse?"
This time the vote was unanimous. This way, the issue of Snow could be dealt with and no blood would be spilled.
"Now we need to decide what to do with Blue," Mal pointed out.
"Can we give Blue a sleeping curse too?" wondered Kathryn, "fairies don't fall in love, so it would be unlikely that she had a true love who could wake her. Would it work on a fairy?"
Emma spoke up, "Nova fell in love with Leroy, even though they're not together any more. It's possible she could have a true love out there."
"Even if she did, if she was kept here at the castle, then someone would have to know who she was, and would have to already love her to even want to wake her, which is unlikely," Regina mused. "If they did, however, they would have to find their way through the castle's security, in order to reach her. It might be a safe plan."
"Shall we put it to the vote?" Mal asked the room.
"All those in favour of Blue being given a sleeping curse, raise your hand," Archie requested.
Again, a unanimous decision.
"Ok, so that's decided," Archie said with satisfaction.
"Well, not really," Belle told him, "we still don't know how we will do this?"
Archie sighed, "I guess that's the next order of business."
xxxxxxxxxx
Snow was in the study, pacing again, as Blue watched sedately from her chair at the table.
"What do we do? You need to fix this," Snow glared at the fairy, "I will have my revenge."
"What do you want me to do, Snow?" Blue asked.
"Kill them! Make them suffer! Torture them if you can," Snow growled dangerously.
"Until my magic has settled fully, I am not about to walk into their castle and offer myself up on a plate," Blue said primly, "which is what I would be doing if I went there while my magic was so temperamental."
"Once your magic is fully operational, what's your plan, anyway?" Snow looked at Blue curiously. Not for the first time, she realised Blue was fond of keeping secrets from her.
"I haven't decided," Blue lied, "I can't just walk in there and kill them all. There are many magic practitioners living in the castle, it would be suicide."
"You'll be powerful though, surely they will be no match for you?"
"Maybe I would be powerful enough to deal with Mal, but not Emma, Regina or Willow," Blue told her.
"Willow is just a child. How strong can she be?" Snow asked, scoffing at the thought of a child being able to best Blue.
"Willow is the child of true love, and therefore has light magic running through her veins. She is also part-dragon and so is brimming with the magic of the ancients," Blue patiently explained, all the while clenching her fists in frustration under the table, out of sight.
"Emma only has light magic, she's not part-dragon," Snow told Blue.
Blue sighed, this women really was so stupid, "yes but Emma can also draw on Regina's magic which is dark, which automatically makes her stronger. In fact, the same can be said for Regina too, as she can draw from Emma's light magic. Together they are a powerful duo and virtually unstoppable," Blue said almost reverently, unable to not be respectful of such power. Blue knew that once her magic had finally taken over and been absorbed fully, she would be one of the most powerful witches in the realms, but even she quaked at the thought of taking on Regina and Emma when they combined their magic.
Snow's face seemed to light up then, "what if they no longer had their magic?"
Blue grinned, "I would say that would make things much easier. What are you thinking?"
"What if we made another device, but one which absorbed the magic from people rather than a place?" suggested Snow.
"It could work. We have none of the herbs and artifacts required to do such a thing but it's not impossible. It may take time to acquire the items we need though."
"We have time," Snow assured her, "I don't think they will strike first. We can send out our loyal servants, to find the items for us, which will save time."
"It's a good plan. I'll make a list of what we need, and then we can get started," Blue advised her.
Snow rubbed her hands at this idea, and literally cackled like a Disney villain.
xxxxxxxxxx
It was an unusually sunny day, for the time of year, and the family had decided to make the most of it while they could. Henry and Willow had finished with their lessons for the day, so they headed out into the main courtyard for training. Not knowing what they would be up against, they had decided it would be best for all of them to brush up on their skills. Henry had been asking daily to train as a Knight and Regina had agreed, knowing that it would be good for him to be able to protect himself.
Regina had always been good with a sword, and had taught Henry a little on their last day in Storybrooke. Now it was time to train him formally and develop muscle memory which would help him if he ever needed it.
Mal was working with Willow to develop her magical abilities, and was impressed constantly with the girl's raw power. She just needed to be taught more about controlling it, but the skills were already there.
"Come on, kid, you got this!" Emma called from the sidelines, as he faced off against Regina.
Regina sent a mock glare her way, "Emma Swan-Mills, stop encouraging your son to hit his mother!"
"Come on, Mom," Henry raised his sword, "show me what you've got!"
A look of determination came over her face. Just because he was a child, her child, did not mean that she was about to let him win. Henry blanched at the steely look on her face and involuntarily took a step backwards, as the others laughed.
Regina struck first, but was easily parried by Henry and they settled into an easy rhythm. Henry was good, and had the potential to be brilliant, but right now? Regina was better.
She grinned at him, taunting him from time to time, "is that all you've got, Henry? You're not going to qualify to train as a Knight at this rate."
A quick step forward and a blow headed to Regina's weaker side, had her grin disappearing as she narrowed her eyes. For a young wiry lad, he was strong, and the blow she had blocked reverberated up her arm.
"How about you fight me, instead?" David called out.
"Dad, you can't take on Henry, he's not ready," Emma laughed.
"Oh, I didn't mean Henry," David winked, "I meant your wife," he turned to Regina, "unless you're too scared?!"
"No one calls me a coward and lives to tell the tale, David, are you sure you want to fight me?" she asked, casually blocking another strike from Henry, as he hoped to break through her defences while she was distracted.
"You're not the Evil Queen, anymore, I think I can handle you," David replied, stepping forwards.
"Oh, I can't wait to watch this," Henry looked between them laughing, before handing David his sword.
"Ready?" David asked, as Mal and Willow came to sit down and watch.
"Ready," Regina smiled dangerously, "any last words?"
"You're going down, Mills," David stated, raising his sword.
"It's Swan-Mills," grinned Regina, "let's fight."
"You're not allowed to use magic," David told her, suddenly remembering she had a huge advantage.
"Fine, I won't use magic, spoil sport!"
"Are you going to fight anytime soon, or just trash talk each other to death," Mal heckled.
Regina and David started fighting, but it became apparent that perhaps David was the better sword person. Regina was already tired from teaching Henry, and her muscles were aching, but David was fresh and had been training daily since they arrived in the Enchanted Forest. Without magic, David definitely had the advantage.
"Ready to admit defeat?" David jibed.
"Pride comes before a fall, David," Regina told him with a tone of superiority, just as David took a step backwards and tripped on a loose cobble, that he swore wasn't there before. He didn't fall, but stumbled clumsily, though he recovered quickly. He glared at the ground as if it had tripped him on purpose.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Regina went on the attack, delivering three quick and concise blows, aimed at knocking him off his centre of balance.
David went on the offensive, but just as he was about to strike, his grip loosened and he dropped his sword.
"Tiring already, David? Even Henry lasted longer than you," Regina called to him, mockingly.
"Stupid sword," grumbled David, as he picked it up and took his stance.
Circling each other now, both looking for a break in their opponent's defences, David was the first to make a move, but Regina blocked easily, and then danced away gracefully.
David attempted to follow her, but his foot got caught in a root that had seemingly grown out of nowhere, and he tripped again, this time hitting the courtyard heavily, and winding himself.
"I saw that, you little Monkey," Emma whispered to Willow, "you need to hide your hand more," she advised conspiratorially.
Shocked that she wasn't in trouble, Willow smiled deviously at her Mom, "thank you," she whispered back.
Regina looked at Emma and Willow and laughed, knowing exactly what they were up to. Her wife and daughter had a fondness for causing mischief together.
David glanced at Regina, seeing that she was distracted and attempted to land another swing, but as Regina blocked, his sword turned to rubber and the blade bounced off.
"What the hell?" he said, confused, before turning to Regina and accusing, "hey! We agreed, no magic!"
"I haven't used magic," Regina told him indignantly.
Willow and Emma started laughing, immediately clueing the others in, as to the source of the magic.
"You said Mom couldn't use her magic," Willow said innocently, "but you never said that I couldn't!"
David had no choice but to laugh at that, and the rest of the family joined in. Even though there was a darkness coming, looming on the horizon, today had made them all realise one thing. No matter how bad things got, as long as they were all together, they would be ok.
