Chapter 11 – The one with the beard.
Season two is off to a shaky start when Kavalan doesn't reappear. The fans keep waiting, and every week they're dismayed when Kavalan remains dead and Queen Reina seems to have taken up with Troy, luring the man to her side against Artemis, Atticus, and Freya, despite audiences being aware that there's a new third party plotting against them all. Despite her youth, Ivy is a strong contender and her character stirs up enough intrigue that audiences remain enraptured, even as they complain about Kavalan's death and Reina's lackluster new romance.
"I think they're great," Regina says with a bland smile when asked about Reina and Troy's budding relationship at a panel, her expression somewhat bored. Emma and Henry are backstage watching the live feed on a monitor and Emma thinks Regina must be doing it on purpose, because the woman is a brilliant actress for god's sake, surely she could have faked more excitement about the ship if she'd tried.
"Treina is going down," Henry cackles, perhaps a little too loudly, because Regina suddenly laughs on stage and the Treina fans in the crowd (small as they are) cry out in annoyance at the disruption.
"Do you think Kavalan will come back to the show to be with Reina again?" one fan asks when she steps up to the mic, and Regina suddenly leans forward and squints to realize the girl is wearing a fan-made T-shirt featuring Reina and Kavalan, with "#KavaReina" in flowing font just beneath them.
"I think in a world of fantasy and magic, anything is possible," Regina offers, and now her smile is wide and genuine, warmth twinkling in her dark eyes. "If Reina and Kavalan are meant to be, they'll always find each other again."
A dreamy sigh echoes through the room from her many LGBTQ fans in attendance, and Emma gapes at the monitor in awe as Henry wiggles happily beside her.
"KavaReina!" he shouts through the black curtain, and the fans echo him gleefully, starting a chant that puts every other ship to shame.
KavaReina grows. The LGBTQ fans latch onto that shred of hope that Regina gives them and absolutely runs with it, and soon social media is full to bursting with KavaReina fanart, manips, and fanfiction. There are even fanvids using every scrap of footage from season one, set to songs that seem to match them to a T.
"Look at this one, it's so sad," Ruby gushes, shoving her phone in Emma's face ("What's your excuse for being in Boston now?" Emma jokes, but she secretly loves that Ruby keeps flying down to visit her during hiatus.) Emma takes the phone from the pushy brunette and clicks play, immediately choked when Beautifully Unfinished by Ella Henderson starts playing over a slow, faded montage of Reina and Kavalan.
Cause every time I'm with you somehow I forget to breathe
You got me like a ragdoll, now I'm dancing on your string
And I keep trying to figure out who you are to me
But maybe all that we are meant to be... is beautifully unfinished.
"What the fuck, Rubes," Emma mutters as the video fades out on a scene of a mourning Reina from season two, blinking back the tears in her eyes because it's so sad and it's so KavaReina and damn it, she misses Regina.
"Come on, admit it: you ship it."
All Ruby gets is a rude hand gesture, and all she does is laugh and pull Emma into a side hug.
As per their PR manager's suggestion, Regina starts attending events with Graham, the two of them linked at the arms and looking pretty for the cameras. Emma's always on Regina's other side, though, the only one to receive the brunette's warm, genuine smiles, and KavaReina/GuardianQueen fans latch onto that even as Treina fans get smug about Regina and Graham being together "for real."
Emma joins in the occasional panel or Q&A whenever Henry's pouts get too cute to resist (though she's getting better at resisting him, honest) and it's still a challenge finding the right responses to fan questions, but she's getting better with experience and with coaching from her castmates.
"I think they definitely had something unique," Emma replies, smiling softly when a young fan beams up at her. "And if the network ever decides to bring me back, it would be really cool to explore their dynamic further."
No one outs her for being the one who asked to be removed from the show in the first place, but as time goes on, Emma starts to wonder... What if she returns? Would it really be so bad to be an actor in a show full of friends? She could take a break from her normal job, stay by Regina's side as co-star and personal security. Henry loves being on set and, for the first time in a long time, she feels like she's found a place she belongs, with people who want her and actively seek her out when she's gone.
When she shyly mentions this revelation to Regina, the brunette's response is a blinding smile. "That's great! Emma, I'll let Belle know right away! Do you know how excited our fans are going to be?"
And they are. Emma gets thousands upon thousands of mentions and likes on Twitter when the official Kingdom Come pages announce her return to the series alongside their season three renewal, and KavaReina fans are jumping for joy at the possibilities. Emma even gets a full promo poster dedicated to Kavalan, in which she stands in a heroic pose in her iconic dark leather sleeveless vest and pants, fur collar brushing up against her prominent jawline where her fake scar has been reapplied, her blonde curls up in an intricate braid and her sharp green eyes popping. The backdrop is of Queen Reina's castle in the distance, the sky dark with thunderclouds and the grounds foggy with black smoke. "Kingdom Come" is pasted across the image in stark gold lettering, and just below it, "The Guardian Returns."
"You look so cool," Henry gushes, managing to get his hands on a copy of the poster to put up in their apartment. Regina even puts one up in their shared condo once they're back in Vancouver to start filming, right next to a promo poster of Queen Reina. Emma can't help but blush self consciously every time she sees them, but she has to admit: they do look good side by side. It doesn't hurt that she looks pretty badass.
Filming feels like coming home now, even if they do work long days. They're all very familiar with Vancouver at this point and spend every weekend hitting the town or hiking the best mountains Canada has to offer. As excited as everyone is to be back for a third season, however, Belle finds a new wall standing in her way of the story she wants to tell.
Gold doesn't want a bisexual lead. Queen Reina has grown to become their superstar, their MVP, their fan-favourite moneymaker, and he fears the potential backlash from the general American audience if she suddenly becomes part of some "gay agenda." And Belle is weary of outing herself and potentially getting the show cancelled by upsetting their biggest producer, so she can only push so far before admitting defeat and trying for another route.
"Kavalan has become a favourite for the LGBTQ fans," she offers sweetly, making sure to flutter her lashes as Gold rubs thoughtfully at his chin. "They would rally behind our show if we made her queer. Think of the online publicity."
And so he agrees: Kavalan becomes canonically gay. Her "unrequited" love for the Queen has a certain angsty draw to it, he admits, and Belle just bobs her head and lets him believe it was all his brilliant idea in the first place.
"She could end up being with one of the more minor ensemble characters," she suggests, and he snaps his fingers and says, "Of course! Use Freya."
"It's like I'm being sacrificed," Ruby laughs afterwards when Belle tells the cast about the conversation.
"Gee, you make it sound like you're being forced to romance a beast," Emma jokes, setting a hand dramatically over her heart as if wounded, and Ruby teasingly pouts and makes sure to plant a wet, sloppy kiss to Emma's cheek.
"Gross, Rubes."
"You love me, Swan."
And she does... like a sister. So it gets a little weird when Freya finds an amnesiac Kavalan struggling to survive in the forest after having washed up on a rocky shore, recruiting her to their side and quickly falling for the gruff, rugged warrior woman.
"Why do you not allow me to come with you to the Dark Kingdom?" Kavalan frowns, moody and brooding, sharpening her sword with a whetstone while Freya paces nearby.
"The Queen is... a wretched soul. I do not wish for her to lay eyes on you."
Freya lies, and she does so with the mindset that Reina is the enemy and that Kavalan is better off with them. But she is also softer around Kavalan, less sharp with her words, and Kavalan is one of the few to ever see her without her usual warpaint on her face, their private moments tender and tastefully done.
"I do it for your own good," Freya promises, hands cupping Kavalan's face, and their kiss is chaste but gentle, a soft press and slide of lips until Belle calls, "Cut!" and Ruby is suddenly swinging a leg over Emma's lap and pretending to shove her tongue down her throat, and Emma squeals and laughs wildly as she flails her arms and tries to shove her friend off.
"Eww!" she shrieks, slapping blindly as Ruby smothers her face with kisses. The lanky brunette eventually bounces off with a cackle, leaving Emma flustered and red and Regina scowling in their direction.
"Honestly," Regina huffs, briefly giving Ruby the stink-eye, though most of the crew just finds it hilarious and has a good laugh at Emma's expense.
"That's going in the blooper reel, right?" Ruby asks Belle, and the young director snickers and agrees with enthusiasm.
