"Ok Henry, lets go!" Eithan said as he hopped onto his horse.
"I'm coming!" Henry answered him as he began to catch up with Eithan.
The two first started to slowly tread against the open field and soon picked up their pace. Eithan's horse, was a chestnut brown steed with a dark brown mane and the blackest eyes. Henrys horse was a slightly lighter brown with the same dark brown mane yet with light brown eyes. As they made a few rounds around the open green field, they began to once more pick up the pace into a gallop. Eithan looked over to the younger boy and saw one of the biggest smiles hes ever seen.
"Henry, follow me. I wanna show you something" Eithan said as he made a turn towards the forest.
"Ok!" Henry said, his smile not faltering in the slightest.
"Ok but seriously how is he saying its an emergency meeting if it's in two weeks? Show me the logic in that. Please." Jane said as she places her head down on top of her paperwork for the umpteenth time.
"He is giving you and the rest of the rulers time to get ready. Don't you remember how angry King Alfred became when the last meeting was held without at least a week in advance notification?" Marshall said as he poured some tea into a tea cup.
Jane let out a chuckle. "Yea, that was quite a sight. Dorthea and her mother were beet red. I couldn't stop laughing at his angry rambles. And their faces."
"Yes well, this is probably for them. To ensure that they cannot get angry at the impromptu meeting."
Jane hummed in agreement as she took a sip of her tea. Her thoughts wandered off to her new guests. Just how did they get that crystal? Regina came here to Ruby Kingdom all those years ago. While yes Ruby and Sapphire kingdoms are neighboring kingdoms, to pass through the borders requires an official pass or escort. And thats just to get into the kingdom. And that Emma White girl. Her parents are the textbook definitions of benevolent dictators. They are from the same realm, that much is shown, but just how do they know each other. All I saw in Regina's eyes was her history here. Was it perhaps because she recognized where she was and so the memories came flooding back? Which is why it was so easy for me to tell who she was? In any case, I should probably research her more.
"Everything alright, your majesty?" Marshall asked. Jane turned to him, pulled out of her daze. "I thought I was clear on not calling me that." she said as she got up from her desk, leaving all the unfinished paperwork sprawled every where. "Im going to the library for a bit. Do some research on our new guests."
"To think the day where you voluntarily go the library for research has come. Is something about them unsettling to you?"
"Oh ha HA." Jane mocked. "Not necessarily them, but rather how they became acquainted with one another, and how Regina managed to look well in her primes after three decades." Jane said as she made her way out of her study. "Don't worry, ill finish the paperwork..soon.."
Regina left the small room with the paintings and continued her explorations. It was probably just her with curly hair. Gods know how many times my mother made me look better than my best for those insufferable paintings.
As Regina kept walking, she passed through a hall with a window reaching from the ceiling to the near bottom of the floor. She looked out in awe as she saw a gorgeous open green field extending into a forest. This is probably the field she was talking about for horse riding. Regina thought. She walked closer to the window and let out a gasp as she saw her son gracefully riding a horse, with Eithan by his side. She marveled on how quickly her son grew up from her arms and onto a horse. Its been Regina's dream to teach her son how to ride a horse but it looks like there was no need for it, seeing how much of a natural he is. She shouldn't be surprised, given his family lineage but she couldn't the overwhelming feeling of pride that swelled up in her. As she continues to watch him gallop his way around the fields, she then sees him and Eithan make a turn for the forest. Worry quickly filled her mind because of the events that happened the day prior.
She quickly began to make her way back to her room to get Emma and go after them. She internally cursed when she tried using magic to get there faster and failed. Regina nearly ran across the palace, passing several servants giving her curious looks. She finally reached Emma's room, opened the door and slammed it shut, hoping it would wake up the sleeping blonde.
And it did.
Emma awoke with a startle as the door slammed and she flailed on the bed, nearly falling off of it. When she regained her composure, she propped herself on her elbows and looked over around the room to find the culprit. However all she found was Regina trying to catch her breath.
"Regina what ha- are you ok?" Emma said sitting up on the bed now. "What happened?"
"I saw Henry and that boy Eithan head off into the forest on horses" Regina said once she regained her breath. "We need to go after them"
"Well if Henry is with Eithan then i'm sure everything will be fine." Emma said. Regina widened her eyes at the blonde. How can she jus say that?
"How can you even say that?! Do you not remember what jumped at us yesterday?" Regina said. "What if it jumps at them too?"
"Regina calm down. Eithan saved Henry from those huge monkeys once before i'm sure he can do it again if he has to." Emma said hoping it will relax Regina, even just a little bit.
Emma was stupid to hope.
"Why would he even need to be saved? Why is that boy putting my son in danger like that?" Regina exclaimed.
"Our son" Emma said back
"Miss Swan" Regina said with a glare. Emma got up and walked over to Regina and put her hands on the brunettes shoulders.
"Regina even if we were to go after them now, how do you expect us to catch up with them if they're on horses and we are without magic? Im sure Eithan wouldn't purposefully put Henry in danger like that. Those giant monkeys are his enemies too so that would mean he would also be in danger. They're boys Regina, let them have their fun for now." Emma explained. Regina's gaze softened but the worry was still there.
"I don't want him to get hurt"
"Neither do I but really there isn't much we can do at this point. Yea we're in an unknown land but we were lucky enough to have the royal family let us stay here where its safe so we don't have to constantly worry about safety. So just take a deep breath and let Henry have his fun. You said he was riding a horse right? Was he good?" Emma asked with a small smile as she went back to her bed to sit down. Regina sat on her bed and recalled how gracefully Henry was riding.
"He was a natural" Regina said with a smile that Emma happily returned.
"Woooaahhh what is this place?" Henry asked with his mouth wide open and eyes roaming every where.
"This is my happy place outside the palace" Eithan said.
Henry looked all over, allowing his eyes to take in every detail of the wondrous place. Deep into the forest, there was a river that flowed through the heart of the forest. The water was clear as glass. If you went east of the river, you would eventually come across a spot right on the mountain that will make your eyes widen. This is the spot where the river begins and is met with a not so large, yet not so small waterfall. The ground surrounding the pool of water created by the waterfall was covered in giant rocks with green moss covering some of them. The tree branches hung low and the leaves were long, each a different shade of green, allowing the perfect amount of sunlight to drift through. The sound of the water falling from the side of the giant mountain gave out a calming effect and the scenery around the sound gave a feeling of serenity. There was one particular boulder that was right under the waterfall, causing the falling water to split its path and spray towards the sides of the boulder while giving off a small mist. The water, being crystal clear, blent in all the colors surrounding it.
"This place is amazing Eithan" Henry said still in awe. Eithan got off his horse and sat down on a rock and motioned Henry to do the same.
"Yes I know. Its a great place to just sit and think. Or to just relax and forget about all your worries." Eithan said and Henry hummed in agreement.
"Does anyone else know about this place?" Henry asked.
"No, not that I know of. If anyone else does then they don't come here when i'm here at least"
"Probably see the prince and back away" Henry said with a small laugh.
"Oh shut up. Anyone is welcomed here if they find it. No matter who's here before them" Eithan said as he playfully shoved Henry.
"Do you not like your royal title? If you don't mind me asking that is. Its just that i've noticed you and your sister tend to avoid being called anything with a royal title" Henry said with curiosity.
"Its not that I don't like my royal title. I don't mind it, really. But just because i'm a prince, doesn't mean I enjoy giving orders or stripping people of their rights. Despite what my sister says, I do study, and i've learned that being a dictator will not get you anywhere except overthrown. Who wants that? As for my sister, she just feels like she doesn't deserve the royal title. For as long as I can remember, she was never a "princess". She was never one to follow the rules. She hated rules and all the ways a princess had to act. But that all changed after my parents and my other older sister passed away. Out of necessity, she had to take up the thrown and continue the ruling in their place" Eithan explained. His voice shuddering in those last two sentences. He didn't like remembering that day. The day when he found out most of his family was killed.
"Wait you had another sister?" Henry said right away, more curiosity filling his voice. Eithan looked over at Henry. He saw the purity in his eyes. Unlike his sister, he didn't have the power to look into someones past but he knew a pair of trustworthy eyes when he saw one. He's only 13 but has the soul of an old man.
"Yea. Her name was Raina. Raina Ronan. She's seven years older than Jane, so that would make her 29 years old now. Her and Jane look so much like each other despite Jane looking like my mother and Raina looking like my father." Eithan said.
"Wow," Henry said letting the information sink in. So both his parents and older sister died at the same time? "Im sorry"
"For what? You didn't take them away from me, silly" Eithan said with a small smile. "Its in the past now. It happened eight years ago." Henry looked at him, not sure if Eithan's smile is genuine.
"Come on, lets go for a swim! The water is always warm" Eithan said as he began to take off his shirt.
"Ok!" Henry said with a smile as he joined Eithan in the water.
"Oh my" Jane said as she looked over the new information. She stood over several open books that were spewed across a large round wooden table in the back of her personal library. "So Regina Mills, the once Evil Queen casted a massive curse that plunged her entire realm into a world with no happy endings and no progression of time? And whats more is that this world is in the same realm that we get all our technological advances from. What are the odds?" Jane said with a chuckle. "And her and Emma know each other because.." Jane flipped through a few more pages of the book she was holding. "Oh Emma is the savior for this curse. OH THATS RIGHT SHES THE PRODUCT OF TRUE LOVE" Jane said with astonishment. How did I forget that? Mother and Father made me memorize nearly all the famous tales of true love, even from other realms. I did see in her eyes that she was a princess indeed but I completely forgot that Snow White and Prince Charming were true loves. "Well this certainly explains how Regina managed to look so young after 30 plus years. Damn, I can't go through all of that just to stay young" Jane muttered. "So the Evil Queen, a princess trained by the darkest of beings, created a curse that only a savior can break? My god that sounds like something you'd see on television" Jane used her magic to clean up the mess she made. One by one, all the books she pulled out from their shelves went back inside as she made her way through the door and sealed it shut. She began to walk back to her study to finish up some paper work before dinner. She knew if she didn't soon, Marshall will scold her and despite him only being a servant, she sees him as a father.
So the dark one, by the name of Rumpelstiltskin, made Regina into what she is today, or rather, what she was all those decades ago. The book said he can be summoned from any realm to perform a favor in exchange for a price. But his methods clearly include dark magic, that much was obvious just from his title. Is that how Regina came in contact with the Sapphire Orb? Did the dark one have any business in the Sapphire Kingdom? And if so, what was it? And speaking of the orb, I should return it to their majesties. I guess ill do it at our next meeting then. No point in seeing them unless needed. But damn, I really wish I can get more information on this. No way in hell will Regina let me look into her past any further. But if it really was like what was recorded, I wouldn't blame her.
Jane entered her study once more and saw that the papers that were haphazardly thrown across the desk were now split into two piles of what was done and what needed to be done. The piles were in similar height so she was about halfway there. In front of the finished pile, she found a note with Marshall's handwriting.
"Im truly surprised you got this much done, your majesty" -Marshall
Jane let out a small laugh, she's used to Marshall's teasing. She never had any venom in her words when she reprimanded him for saying a title with her name. She put the note aside and continued to do her work. As she was working, she quickly wondered what her guests were up to.
"Regina can we pleeeaaseee do something?" Emma asked for the tenth time as the brunette stood out on the balcony gazing over to the small lake in the middle of the field. Emma got tired of being in her room alone after Regina woke her up so she decided to pay the brunette a visit.
"What do you want to do?" Regina asked absent mindlessly.
Emma, shocked that she even got a response in the first place, let alone asking what she prefers, since Regina has been quiet the other nine times shes been asking. Emma only asked Regina to do something because she didn't want her to be alone in this place. Not because she didn't trust the woman in charge, but because the brunette has been alone long enough in her opinion. Emma would be lying to herself if she said she didn't feel some sort of attraction towards Regina. She didn't know when it started, but she knew of it when she realized she couldn't bare seeing Regina hurt or upset, and how happy she'd get when Regina smiled or on the rare occasion, laughed. She knows that Regina doesn't feel the same way, and its fine, just as long as she's not hurt or upset.
"Now you don't want to go anywhere?" Regina asked as she looked back. Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw Emma look at her with sad eyes. "Emma are you ok?" Regina quickly asked as she got up. That seemed to have pulled Emma out of her haze and schooled her features again.
"Yea why?"
"You looked upset, like you were about to cry." Regina said.
"My my, not only has her majesty called me by my first name, but she is now worried for my well being? Ok who are you and what have you done with my Regina?" The words slipped out of Emma's mouth before she could successfully shut it. A blush now creeping up on both the blondes and brunettes face, though the latter claiming it was because she got caught worrying about the former. The former however, blushing because of the sudden "my" that came out.
"Shut up Miss Swan" Regina said as she walked towards the door. "Are we going somewhere or not?" Regina asked with impatience linked in her voice.
"Y-yea just let me get my coat" Emma said as she took her red leather jacket. "Do you want to go to the town?"
"Fine but how will we get there?" Regina asked as her and Emma left their room.
"Um, do you think we can ask Jane for a way?"
"Very well but where is she?"
"Thats a good question. Lets ask someone" Emma said. They started to walk down the hall, trying to find a maid or another servant that would help them find her. As they walked, they took in their surroundings once more, white walls with red borders that had intricate designs engraved in it. Regina's heels clicked loudly against the red and white tiled marble floors, sending a slight echo.
"How are you still walking in those heels?"
"How? Well ill put it simply for you, you put your left foot in front of your right foot, and then your right foot in front of your left foot. Its sort of like what you are doing except with heels."
"And here I thought you were gliding across the floor. When I say 'how', I mean how do your feet not hurt?"
"Practice. Miss Swan. Years and years of practice" Regina said with a smirk. "And I have glided before"
"What? When?" Emma asked in bewilderment. Regina can glide?
"When I made my grand entrance at your parents wedding." Regina said. Emma just rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. They continued to walk and when they made another turn, they saw a maid dusting the portraits up on the wall.
"Excuse me but do you where we can find Jane?" Emma asked. The maid turned around to look at them and smiled.
"Lets see, its 3:30pm right now so she should be in her study completing her paperwork" the maid told them. "Just go down the hall there, pass through the small yard and you'll see a double door leading to the next wing of the building. Then take the stairs up to the third floor and its the last door on the right."
"Theres another wing to this palace?" Regina asked. She saw no sign of there being another wing, let alone a yard to pass through when she took her tour.
"Yes of course. This is the South wing of the palace, and Jane's study is in the North wing." the maid said wondering what made her ask such a question. "If she is working on the paperwork when you get there, Im not too sure if she will let you into the study because chances are she wont hear you. She likes listening to the loudest music when working."
"Well we will make ourselves heard, thank you." Regina said. "Lets go Miss Swan." Emma thanked the maid once more and started to follow Regina. They went down the hall and just as the maid said, they saw a small, yet beautiful yard with double doors opposite of them.
The yard was a quaint one, and no bigger than a hundred feet in perimeter. It was in the shape of a square, with two benches on each side and bird baths in between the benches. Beds of various flowers went along the perimeter and the grass was just as green as it was every where else in this kingdom. The benches were made out of cherry wood with black handles and borders, with an eighteenth century design.
"This truly is a beautiful palace" Regina said while looking at her surroundings.
"Yea it really is" Emma said as they made their way through the yard and towards the double doors. Emma opened the doors, allowing Regina to enter.
The North wings interior looks the same as the Souths wing, just with different portraits on the walls.
The two women continued to make their way towards the study. They went up the red and white curved staircase to the third floor and saw that there was only one door, and that was the one all the way to the right.
"That must be it" Emma said as she pointed towards the two large wooden doors.
"And here I thought she was behind a wall" Regina replied, with no doubt, sarcasm in every word.
"After showing us that stone room I wouldn't be surprised if she was" Emma said ignoring Regina's sarcasm as she made her way towards the door. Regina smirked and made her way towards Emma.
The blonde knocked three times on the door and waited for an answer.
None came so she knocked again.
Once again there was no answer. Regina grew a bit annoyed and remembered that the maid said she probably wouldn't hear them. So she tried out the door and saw that it was unlocked. She looked over at Emma who just shrugged. They made their way into the study and saw that it was dimly lit. The only source of light was the small desk lamp that illuminated the paperwork Jane was working on and a large window behind Jane that allowed sunlight in, on the opposite side of the door. Regina took a quick look around as she walked in and saw bookshelves filled with books that made up all the walls and a small sofa on the left side. The desk that Jane was working on was no less than ten feet long and five feet wide, no doubt made from the same wood as everything else in the palace.
Jane noticed the shift in air and looked up. She saw her two guests standing awkwardly by the door. She took off her headphones and smiled.
"Oh you found me. What may I help you with?" Jane said as she laid back in her seat. She's halfway done with her paperwork and was quite happy with her progress.
"We were hoping you can direct us to the main city"
"You guys wanna go to Main Street? Why?"
"We're bored" Emma said. Jane let out a laugh when she heard that.
"Well apologies for my palace being boring. You are aware there are many game rooms here right?"
Emma and Regina shook their heads. They suddenly remembered what Henry said he did with Eithan. Realization hit them and Jane saw the change in their faces, letting out another laugh. "Its ok don't worry about it. Ill do you one better. Instead of directing you to Main Street, ill take you there myself." Jane said as she gathered her finished papers into a neat piles. I'll finish the rest after dinner.
"Are you sure? You look busy" Emma said. She didn't want to disrupt the girl from her work.
"I've been doing this since after we finished lunch. I can take a little break to take my lovely guests to one of our lovely attractions."
"Lunch was two hours ago. You're already tired?" Regina asked
"Yes"
"She's a teen, Regina. Im sure you didn't enjoy paperwork when you were a teen." Emma said with a chuckle.
"Woah wait. What?" Jane said with wide eyes. "I'm not a teenager. I'm twenty years old. Im turing twenty one in a few months" Regina's and Emma's eyes grew wide. They could've sworn that Jane was a teenager. She didn't look a day older than seventeen.
"You look so young though!" Emma exclaimed.
"Twenty years isn't that old!" Jane said back.
"But its true dear, you look like you're well in your teen years."
"Yea you look younger than you apparently are." Emma said.
"Regina you're nearing your sixties yet you don't look a day older than thirty" Jane said with a nonchalant tone.
Regina blushed and looked down and Emma's eyes widened. She knew that the brunette was technically much older than her, but she didn't actually realize she was that much older than her. She'd forget that the curse was 28 years old before she broke it. She looked over at the blushing Regina and let out a small laugh. "Its ok Regina. For what its worth, you're pretty hot for someone nearing their sixties" Emma said while trying to hold a straight face.
"Oh my god" Regina muttered under her breath as she blushed even harder. After taking a deep breath she looked up at the other two women. "Are we going or not?"
The two younger women let out a laugh before Jane nodded her head yes. "Ok ill take you guys to Main Street. Grab my hand"
Emma and Regina grabbed her hand and the next thing they knew, they disappeared in a puff of red smoke and appeared in the heart of Main Street. Regina and Emma looked around the bustling street and Emma saw that it was very similar to New York City but it had more of a homey feel. While the urban city had more of a business feel to it, Main Street had a hospitable feel to it. It looked like everyone knew each other and were very friendly. Jane quickly lead them into a little alley.
"Regina look at me" Jane said seriously. Regina turned around to face the younger brunette, confused at the tone. Jane took her left hand and placed her thumb on the middle of Reginas forehead and her middle finger on Regina's right temple. Regina visible flinched at the contact and Emma was about to say something when Jane spoke up. "Don't be afraid. Im going to put a light spell on you"
"What, why?" Emma and Regina asked at the same time.
"Regina don't forget that what you did was only thirty years ago. There are still survivors from there walking about. If they see you, they will no doubt feel the fear that they once did at that time and who knows what they will say. It will cause unnecessary attention." Jane said. Emma and Regina visibly tensed up. "But," Jane continued. "The spell i'm going to put on you now, will cause those people to evade those memories whenever they look at you. Should a survivor from that day see you, they wont recognize as the Evil Queen. Understand?" At this, both Regina and Emma relaxed.
"Wait will I be able to recognize her?" Emma asked.
"You already know her as Regina. You didn't know her as the Evil Queen. This spell is going to only affect those who see her only as the Evil Queen." Jane said.
"Ok" Emma said.
"Ready Regina?" Jane asked. Regina nodded yes. Jane closed her eyes and muttered a spell in another language and as she did, a red mist clouded over Regina. When Jane was done, she took her hand off Regina's face. "There, this will do."
Regina didn't look nor did she feel any different. She looked over to Emma who just gave her a thumbs up. Emma had no memory of Regina being called the Evil Queen. "How long will this last?" Emma asked.
"Until I undo it." Jane said simply. "Well now you're off to do whatever you want. Dinner is in a few hours so ill come pick you guys up when its ready."
"How will you find us?" Regina asked.
"Don't worry about that. I'll find you. Here you can use my card for anything you'd like. Our currency is different from yours." Jane said as she handed the card to Emma. "Enjoy, ladies". And with that, Jane disappeared into a puff of red smoke. Emma and Regina turned to look at each other.
"Ready to explore a bit?" Emma asked with a sheepish smile.
"I don't see why not" Regina said as she returned the smile.
I hope you guys are enjoying the story :)
~J