Hey guys, thank you for all the support! I will give you a (kind of) hint: although this story could take a lot of turns for the worst, this story isn't really angsty or dramatic—I hoped my genres (Romance & Adventure) would give that away. I like fluff, a lot. Enjoy this chapter x

Chapter 9

"Emma I'm your true love."

The minute she uttered those words, Regina was sure she'd scare away the little girl and lose her only best friend—the only person who mattered. A tear ran down her face as she said those words to the one person who had faith in her despite what her parents had told her, a tear was shed because she was so afraid of losing the only person she loved besides her father.

To her surprise, Emma reached up and wiped the tear away from her eye. She placed both of her little hands on the Queen's face and pulled her closer to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. As if she couldn't be sweeter, she brought Regina in for a hug and whispered, "I was hoping it were you. I don't know exactly what that means but we're best friends, right? Best friends wouldn't be best friends if their love weren't true."

And if Regina wasn't completely aware of what true love meant, that would be enough for her. She felt even more tears roll down her cheeks, and she welcomed them, because for the first time in her life, she loved someone who loved her back—she loved someone as fiercely as they loved her. "Emma, you are the sweetest person I know. So sweet that I know you'd go through with the blessing simply for my sake—are you sure this is what you want?"

Emma pretended to think about her response for a moment, and suddenly cried, "Are you serious Gina?! You're only the most important person in my life right now!"

The Queen chuckled at how vehement Emma seemed about this. She got up and walked over to her bed, pulling Emma into her lap. "Alright, my little Swan. We shall do this. Does it not bother you that you'll forget that it is I who is your true love?"

This the little girl did seem to think about. "Not really. I won't forget that we're best friends, and that's what really matters, right Gina?"

At this, the Queen nodded, grateful that Emma hadn't brought up her parents' true love or anything of the sort. Regina still couldn't seem to accept that such an innocent human being could be meant to be with such a malicious, cruel woman. Ain't fate a bitch?

Emma shifted in Regina's lap and turned to face the older woman, "I can get some hair from my parents when I return to their palace," Emma said.

Regina grinned at the sound of their palace. It made her so happy inside to know that Emma considered the Dark Kingdom her home—specifically her home. "You must be discrete about it dear, alright? I do not want you getting into any trouble or them finding out about our plan."

Emma nodded, "I promise Gina." As if Emma couldn't be any cuter, her mouth curled into a giant smile, "I am soooo excited Gina! Aren't you?"

Regina tried to keep a straight face and not indulge in child-like behavior, but she failed when she noticed she started giggling along with Emma and they ended up tangled in her bed in a fit of giggles.

"Emma?"

"Yes Gina?"

"Would you like to stay the night?" Already knowing the answer, Regina conjured up a nightgown from Emma's bedchambers and magically dressed Emma in it.

"How'd you know?"

Regina raised her eyebrow in a way that said "Were you really going to say no?" "I just did."

Emma decided to be risky and ask Regina if she could sleep with her that night. "Gina, can I sleep with you?"

The Queen's body went rigid and her face went pale as she considered the question. "Why would you want to sleep with me dear?"

Emma looked at her as if she'd asked the dumbest question ever. "Because I want to cuddle? Snuggles are fun! My mommy and daddy used to snuggle with me but ever since they found out about the new baby they've been too busy." Emma purposely casted her gaze downward and pouted.

Regina knew this was probably Emma just exaggerating, but the princess looked so sad she couldn't say no. An olive finger touched the princess's chin in order to lift her head. "Emma, sweetheart I'm not saying no, but there's something I wish to share with you."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed. What could Regina possibly tell her that she didn't already know? "What is it Gina, are you sick?" The little girl immediately pressed the back of her hand to the Queen's forehead, feeling for a high temperature. "You don't have a fever, what's wrong?"

Regina's heart warmed at how sweet the little girl could be. "You're very sweet, dear, but no I am not ill." She grew even paler as she thought of how she could tell an 8 year old such a thing. "You see Emma, I was not born like a normal little girl…" She trailed off, clearly feeling more than uncomfortable.

Despite Emma's age, she knew that whatever it was was enough to make the Queen feel ashamed of herself, and she didn't want her to feel badly—no matter what. "Gina, just tell me. I'll still be your best friend, promise."

That gave Regina all the confidence she needed. "You know how you have girl private parts, right?"

Emma slowly nodded, not quite seeing where Regina was going with this.

Regina gulped and decided to simply tell her, "I was born with male parts...I'm a girl and a boy—if that makes any sense." She watched as Emma's face seemed to show one emotion—indifference.

The little girl shrugged, and brought Regina into a bear hug. "Even if you had mermaid parts, I'd still love you. If we're being completely honest, I'm kind of disappointed you're not secretly a mermaid, that'd be very cool!"

Regina feigned anger as she chased Emma around her room, claiming she was going to destroy her happiness if it was the last thing she did. Emma, remembering this from the storybook, laughed so hard that she collapsed onto the floor without landing. Regina landed next to her, both in a fit of giggles once again.

"Emma, I'm too old to be chasing you around." She felt a pinch in response. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"I read in my book that your mother put a youth spell on you when you turned twenty. You're not old at all, don't tell lies."

At the mention of her mother, Regina cringed, which did not go unnoticed by the princess.

"Sorry Gina, I won't speak of her again."

"It's quite alright dear."

The two seemed to sit in silence as they thought about each other and the blessing.

"Gina?"

"Yes, dear?"

"After the blessing…where are we going?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Some place wonderful."

-SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ-

The next morning, Emma woke up not in Regina's bed, but in her own bed. She figured Regina must've sent her body back while she was asleep. It bothered her that she didn't get to say goodbye, but then she remembered her current mission and that made her feel much better.

She'd decided to name it Operation Happy Ending, and even though Regina acted as if she hated the name she could totally see the corners of the Queen's lips threatening to curl into a smile every time she called their plan that.

The little girl got dressed and headed down to the dining hall to eat breakfast with her parents.

"Goodmorning Emma," they supplied.

Usually, Emma didn't hug her parents in the mornings, but she wanted to get their hair as soon as possible so that she could do the blessing. "Mommy, daddy, may I have a hug?"

Both her parents seemed startled by the sudden question, but seemed happy to oblige nonetheless. "Of course you can," they applied in unison.

Emma ran up to them to embrace them whilst quickly conjuring a pair of scissors, and she quickly cut small locks of hair from their heads and sent both the scissors and the hair to her bedchambers.

Charming looked at his daughter skeptically and asked, "What has gotten into you, Emma? You've been quite distant lately and all of a sudden you want a hug?"

Snow looked at Charming as if a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh! Emma are you jealous of the baby? Is that what this is about?" She patted the chair next to her leaving Emma with no choice but to sit down next to her. She looked her daughter in the eye and said, "Sweetheart, I don't want you to be jealous of this baby. Your father and I will still love you as much as we do now, I promise. We just wanted a new baby so we wouldn't make the mistakes we did with you."

Emma had to wonder exactly what her mother meant by this. "I'm not sure what you mean—are you saying that I'm a mistake?"

Charming had the nerve to look guilty at this. He quickly denied it, "No, Emma, we're just saying that we went too easy on you. You ask a lot of questions and that doesn't get you very far as a princess…princesses are supposed to be seen, not heard."

Snow chimed in, "Your father is right Emma. How do you expect to marry a handsome prince if you can't keep your mouth shut for five seconds?"

The blonde could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her and she could also feel hot tears fall down her face and onto her arm. "I have to go."

Leaving no room for her parents to respond, the little girl ran back to her bedchambers. Magically locking her doors, she grabbed her satchel and placed her book, some magic books Regina had given her, and the locks of hair inside as she focused all her energy on the one person she needed the most.

Regina stood in front of her mirror, fixing her hair. She needed to attend court today and she wasn't in the greatest of moods. Her father had come in earlier and reminded her that she was always grumpy when Emma wasn't around (which was very true), but she'd been far too grumpy to have such a conversation with the man.

Once she decided she looked presentable enough, she turned to exit her bedchambers. When she was about to leave, she saw a flash of white magic in front of her which was soon Emma.

The Queen at first was proud that she'd mastered such advanced magic in such a short period of time, but now she was concerned—Emma looked as though her heart had been broken. Despite the cost of her outfit, the queen crouched down on her knees and brought the tiny little girl into her arms, rubbing her back as she sobbed.

"My sweet Emma, tell me what happened."

Emma began telling her about what happened with her parents as Regina held her through her cries. By the time she was finished, Regina had never been more angry before in her life. It was one thing for Snow White to ruin her happiness, but to destroy Emma's as well? No. Regina needed to act now.

"Emma, did you get the hair?"

Emma genuinely grinned for the first time since she'd arrived. "Of course I did."

Regina did a happy dance that she was happy no one was around to see. "Looks like Operation Happy Ending is a go."

Emma couldn't hide her smirk as she heard Regina use her name for their plan. "I knew you liked it."

The Queen rolled her eyes, failing to hide the smile that crept upon her features. "Whatever, Emma! Give me your hand, quickly."

Regina conjured a blade and a vile. "Emma, give me your hand."

Emma obliged and grit her teeth together in pain as Regina slid the blade across her hand.

Letting the blood fall into the vile, Regina did the same to her own hand.

"The hair?" Once Emma handed her the two idiots' hair, Regina dropped that into the vile and watched as it turned a bright blue color. She used her magic to light the fireplace in her bedchambers and led Emma to stand in front of it.

She conjured the page with the spell written on it and pointed to the words. "Emma, you must read this words and focus all your energy on how badly you want this for us, alright dear?"

Too excited to respond, Emma nodded. She grabbed the paper from the Queen and began to read, "Machni ershni saut a demine ut beneficio." She threw the vile into the fire and held onto Regina as the ground began to shake.

A white cloud emerged from the fireplace, and the two held each other as they became engulfed in it. Regina closed her eyes and she wished for her happy ending- she wished for a new life.

NOTE: When I counted the votes, it was Regina G!P(80) and Emma G!P (76). Very close!