Hey guys! I appreciate your votes, however they must come to an end. I give you until tomorrow (9/7 at 9PM ET) to submit any last minute votes on G!P Emma or Regina, and then I will count them up and get along with my story. To those of you who are saying G!P Regina wouldn't really work, this story is an AU. You aren't even 100% sure if Regina's marriage with Leopold was like it was in the show. Vote, read, and find out. Enjoy x

Chapter 6

The little girl followed Regina hand-in-hand down the dark, long corridor of the castle. Emma fought the urge to giggle at how solemn the guards seemed. Even when she smiled at one of the men, they did not smile back at her, they simply remained stoic as if smiling was forbidden in the Dark Kingdom.

When they got to the East Wing of the castle, Emma noticed it had a much more different feeling—it was almost warmer. They got to the last door on the right, and just when Emma thought it was going to be a tiny bedchamber housing an old man, it turned out to be the biggest library she had ever seen.

The little girl gasped, both of her hands instantly covering her mouth as her eyes widened at the colossal of books before her. Part of her wanted to spend the rest of the day in this very room, but she knew she had to meet Regina's father. Glancing up at the Queen, she blushed when she saw the woman's eyes were already on her, grinning at how excited the little girl seemed.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Regina however didn't look angry or impatient in the slightest. Simply chucking, she shook her head. "It's quite alright, Emma. There is someone I would like you to meet."

Turning her gaze to the figure Regina was pointing at, Emma turned her attention to the man she hadn't seemed to notice at first. When he stood, she took note of his gait. He walked with a limp, but possessed no walking aid. She could see where Regina received her olive-colored skin from, but besides that this man physically had no similarities with her.

Emma apprehensively walked toward the man who called himself Regina's father. She wanted to be polite, so she reached her hand out to shake his.

Surprised at the friendly gesture, Henry gladly accepted the hand offered and firmly shook it. Bending down so that his eyes were at the same level as Emma's, he gingerly murmured, "Hi, Princess Emma. I've heard a lot about you." And he had. He couldn't express how happy he was that his daughter had found her happy ending. All of Regina's life, she'd never had any real friends, and he was glad she'd found one. Granted, it was an eight year old girl, but she lit up his daughter's eyes more than anyone he'd ever seen.

Emma seemed to grin a bit at this. It warmed her heart to know Regina had mentioned her to someone. "Hello…" She seemed to struggle with a proper title for the man.

Henry seemed to sense her hesitation, and chuckled softly. "My formal title is Prince Henry, but you may call me Henry. I like that best."

Nodding at this, Emma smiled softly. She felt more at ease now, and could see where Regina got her kindness from.

Henry decided to get to know the little girl a little more. "Emma, I saw how zealous you were about the library. I take it you like to read?"

At this, Emma nodded vehemently. "I've read every book in my parents' castle." Not even noticing that she failed to refer to her castle as "home", she continued, "I hope I can read every book here too."

Henry smiled at this. "I love to read as well. Maybe when we have more time I can give you a few suggestions, yes?"

Nodding eagerly, Emma finally turned to Regina and noticed the Queen had been looking at them all along. Skipping over to Regina, she tugged on the woman's arm and whispered, "Can we go now? I want it to be just you and me."

No one had ever told Regina they wanted to spend time with just her before. Almost everyone Regina had spent time with had been for their personal gain or rather her own…never for the sake of enjoying one's company. Biting back the tears, she nodded, "Of course, little one." The Queen snapped her fingers as the two were enveloped in a purple cloud of smoke and sent back to her bedchambers.

When they arrived, Regina conjured two cushions for them to sit on. Emma watched as the Queen regally sat down in the chair and she wondered if Regina always seemed so…perfect. Everything about the Queen seemed perfect. The woman had not a hair out of place, it amazed the little girl.

Clearing her throat, Regina looked Emma in the eye. "So Emma, what did you think of my father?" If she had asked anyone else, she probably would've killed them on the spot if their answer was not to her liking. With Emma, she found herself wanting to know every thought the little girl had on her father, whether she liked it or not.

Emma seemed to be pensive for a while, until she said, "Well, I like him. He seemed nice and soft spoken. You get your kindness from your father. I think it's neat that he reads books as well, because then I will never bore of talking to him."

Regina smiled at this. She didn't know why she was worried Emma would hate her father. Her father and Emma had a lot in common. What she wasn't prepared for was what Emma said next.

"His compassion makes it really hard to be angry with him for not protecting you in your past. It's too late to be angry about it now, so maybe I will have to protect you from the bad things now since he didn't do a good job. Okay?"

Before Regina knew it, little arms wrapped around her neck. Hot tears slid down her face as she praised whatever gods there were for this little girl. Nodding into the hug, she pulled back and smiled gratefully as Emma wiped the stray tears away from her eyes. "Emma, you are something else, aren't you?"

Grinning widely at the Queen, Regina frowned.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Emma asked.

Regina seemed sad, for what reason Emma didn't know. "I have to get you home now, little one. It isn't wise to keep you away from where you live for too long."

Emma pouted at this, "But Regina, I just got here!"

Regina blinked in surprise. That was the first time she'd ever heard Emma whine. She flinched as she thought back to what her mother did when she used to whine.

"Regina, no more dessert." Cora Mills had had enough of her daughter sneaking dessert behind her back, and now she was firmly telling her daughter not to consume anymore.

"But mamaaaa…" Although Henry thought the whining was very cute, Cora knew that whining was not fit for a queen. Conjuring her magic, she placed the girl in magical bindings so she couldn't escape or squirm.

"How many times have I told you that whining is not tolerated, Regina?"

The little girl cried softly, unable to look to her currently silent father for help. She was brought out of her thoughts by the magical lashing on her leg. "Ahhh! Mama, please stop!"

Cora shook her head and sighed, "Queens do not beg either." She whipped the girl once again, the screams music to her ears.

"Now, how many desserts did you steal?" Cora knew the answer, but she wanted Regina to tell her herself.

Regina simply cried harder until she felt another three lashings against her leg. This time, they drew blood.

Henry couldn't watch this any longer. "Cora! Stop this at once!"

Cora didn't even glance at her meek husband as she placed a silencing spell on his lips. Coming closer to Regina, she said, "Now, how many desserts did you steal?"

Regina didn't cry this time, but instead whispered, "Four."

Smiling to herself, Cora conjured an actual whip and stood in front of Regina. Holding the whip in her hand, she brought it down to strike the girl's hand.

"Ah!" Regina cried as she felt the slash across her hand.

"Count, or we start over."

Not knowing how much more she could take, she cried, "One."

Cora struck her daughter's hand until she reached four, and then grabbed the other and began four lashings on that hand as well.

By the time she was finished, Regina was an absolute mess and she felt the lesson had been taught.

Regina rubbed her palms as she shook away the memory. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she looked back at Emma.

Emma could sense that Regina felt sad. She couldn't explain it, but a part of her felt sad…and a part of her just knew that that sadness was what Regina was feeling. "Gina, why are you sad?"

Snapping her head up from her hands, Regina's eyebrows furrowed. "Dear, how in the Enchanted Forest would you know that I was sad?"

"I can somehow feel what you feel," Emma said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The Queen laughed, hoping it didn't come out as awkward as she felt. "Of course, dear." Ignoring what fact she'd just learned, she scooted closer to Emma.

"Emma, you need to go back home and I need to morph you and your clone back together."

The little girl sighed. Of course she was going to miss her best friend, but a large part of her also didn't want to go back to a place where her parents hovered and treated her as if her feelings didn't matter. Trying not to cry, she put on a brave face and nodded.

Feeling Emma's disappointment, the Queen's heart sank. Kneeling in front of Emma, Regina looked the girl in the eye and sighed. "Emma, I know you don't want to leave. I don't want you to leave. As much as I hate to say this, the two idiots you call parents deserve to raise the real you." She stopped for a moment to chuckle with Emma at the nickname she had for the girls' parents. "You can come visit me as often as you like, all I ask is that you keep our visits between you and I. Does that sound alright to you?"

Emma nodded, a bit happier than she'd been a minute ago. "Regina?"

Looking back quizzically at the girl, she said, "Yes, dear?"

"I love you."

Those three words made the Queen's entire face light up. She hadn't heard those three words from anyone other than her Daniel, but to hear them from the sweetest little girl she'd ever met was quite possibly the best feeling she'd ever had. "Emma, I love you too." And she meant it.

Emma looked insecure for a bit, but decided to ask anyway. "Promise we'll always be best friends?"

Regina looked at Emma like she had 3 heads. "There is no one else I would rather have as my best friend, trust me dear."

And Emma did trust Regina, with all her heart.

Regina activated her mirror and looked on at a peacefully sleeping "Emma". She began to tear up, but managed to keep them at bay, not wanting to upset Emma all over again. When she poofed the cloned version of Emma into her bedchambers, she combined the two.

Running her hands through Emma's blonde Princess curls, she smiled softly. "I'm going to miss you little one, but I will see you soon, alright?"

Nodding, Emma got on her tippy-toes and kissed Regina's cheek.

Beaming, the Queen flicked her wrist and sent Emma back through the mirror portal. When they were both on opposite sides of the glass, Regina waved at Emma and blew her a kiss.

Catching the kiss, Emma giggled and sent one back. The two had a silent conversation for a few minutes until conversation died down and Emma knew she had to say goodbye. Waving at Regina, she smiled before the Queen undid the spell on her mirror.

Walking over to her bed, Regina grabbed one of the pillows off of it and squeezed it, letting out a silent sob.