Chapter 17

The two sat silently on Emma's bed as the minutes dragged on. Both of their heads were filled to the brim and racing as they tried to digest what they learned. Ruby thought of all the signs she missed when it came to Cora and Daniel. All this time she thought Regina just fell out of touch with her and Belle. Ruby had even thought for the longest time that she was jealous of their relationship or something, but she NEVER assumed that Cora was this bad of a person! Cora could have been the entire reason that they barely saw their former best friend since the death of her father. That royal-wanna-be bitch! Cora probably even threatened her with violence. That thought had Ruby fuming!

Meanwhile, the blonde only had one thought in her head, but she thought of nothing else. I don't think I love her! No! Emma tried to take a deep breath, but it turned into a loud sob.

"I don't wanna lose her Rubes! I don't wanna lose Regina… I love her!" Emma sobbed louder and her big sister's grip around her slightly smaller frame tightened.

"I know you do, and you're not gonna lose her Swan! I promise that, but we gotta think of a plan. We can't just rush over there without one." Ruby said with a low dangerous voice and Emma met her eyes. "That's exactly what Cora wants us to do. She wants you to slip, to fuck up. To go over there guns blazing, but we're gonna play this smart. Belle can help us. She's like a fucking CIA agent with that brain of hers."

"I'm afraid he's hurting her Rubes, and I would never forgive myself if he did and I just left her there!" Emma's shoulders sagged at the thought. She finally took a deep breath and sat up, drying her eyes determined.

"We will fix this Swan, trust me. I promise!" the older of the two nodded as she decided it was time to make a strategy. "We must give this some time though. His father is a powerful man. Probably has the sheriff on speed dial. Promise me you won't do anything stupid or crazy!" she loosened her hold on the blonde's body now and pulled back so that she could gaze into her sister's eyes.

"I promise." It was a simple and honest statement.

The days passed and turned into weeks. Life never settled the way it had before. Emma tried to go to the sheriff with her concerns about Regina, but the man would never tell Emma if he found anything. Emma continued with her morning routine, and every day she hoped to meet Regina and Rocinante, but she never did. She even took a fresh Apple with her every day, just in case she needed to bribe the horse. She never needed to though. She would just eat the Apple at the end of her run.

Of course all of this time allowed for doubt to set in. There was a possibility that Regina chose this. In the months that the two were getting to know each other, she didn't seem like the type to just roll over. The worry and doubt exhausted her. Her exhaustion coupled with her eating habits meant that she worked less and lost too much weight, all of those things just made her anxiety much worse. She would go on her morning runs before the sun came up so that she wouldn't have to speak to anyone.

Emma started to pull away from her family, backsliding in her recovery and progress, and starting to behave like she had when she first showed up at Granny's Diner. She became quiet, nervous and hardly slept. She only left her room when she went out for her runs. Ruby, Granny, and Belle tried to reason with her. Emma didn't care. She pushed on. She almost fainted on some runs, but it made her at least feel alive. She still took the apple, and more often than not, that would be all she ate for the entire day. She was too sad to care that she was pushing herself too hard, or that she was pushing her family away.

Granny did her best to show Emma she was there, but the blonde refused to talk to her and the old woman was worried sick. Ruby noticed the stress was taking a toll on her grandmother and she knew this all could end up with her having a heart attack or something since she was so old. Ruby was feeling like a sheep dog in a way, trying to gather her sheep, her heard but she failed miserably, and it cut deeper every time. This whole situation was hopeless.

"Baby, aren't you hungry?" Belle asked and tried to get her girlfriend's attention. They were sitting by the TV in the apartment that was theirs now.

"Hm?" Ruby asked and looked up from her plate.

"Baby, please talk to me? You haven't touched the food and it's your favourite." Belle said and Ruby signed then pushed away her plate.

"I'm sorry. I.. I just have a lot on my mind.." Ruby shrugged. "All this with Emma is just fucking with my head and Granny is….. well you know..worried sick!"

"Baby what's going on with Regina and Emma?" Ruby groaned in frustration. She hasn't been able to get a straight answer out of Emma, Ruby, or Granny. Regina wasn't returning her phone calls or texts at all. Belle straightened her shoulders and gave Ruby a pointed look. Ruby knew this was coming. In all honestly, she had dreaded telling her this. After another minute of gathering her thoughts, she decided it was time to tell Belle all about Cora's stupid idea about Regina and Daniel getting married.

Regina was happy today, because she had been 'allowed' to finally take Rocinante for a ride alone. Even though it was only in the paddock, Regina was so happy about it. Her horse as well. He was noticeably upset though that they couldn't go down his favorite trail. He wanted to go out in the forest where a funny blonde always greeted him with a fresh red Apple. She hasn't recently, but that wasn't her fault, as he wasn't allowed past the fence. The horse always held out hope for that fresh red apple. He huffed when Regina still wouldn't let him go get his apple.

"Patience boy." she said and patted his neck. "We can't push our luck so we have to be happy with this, okay?" Rocinante nibbled on Regina's shirt and she couldn't help but smile as she mounted him. "Come on now boy, let's see if you can jump like back in the good old days huh?" she suggested out loud as she guided the horse.

"She could get hurt!" Cora huffed and looked at the jumping course her husband had built.

Regina was 13 years old and sitting on the horse Henry had bought her for her birthday.

The horse was gigantic but grateful. Cora didn't approve of this anyway. Her daughter shouldn't be busy riding. That was something for the men, and they did have a stable boy. He could exercise the horses himself.

"Don't worry Dear, the horse is as gentle as my old Titan was. Trust me." Henry smiled and pecked his wife's lips. "She has been talking about this since I bought her the horse. She has always wanted me to teach her to jump!" the man said excitedly

"She's a girl Henry! She isn't supposed to be doing things such as this! Don't we pay a stable boy? Why can't he exercise that monstrous thing?"

"She's just a kid Cora, if she falls she'll get right back up. She has always loved horses so she knows the consequences of falling, and how to avoid getting kicked or stepped on. Now she has her own. So why shouldn't she ride him, and have fun doing so? Hm?" Henry chuckled and Cora rolled her eyes then left. She only pretended to storm away, then walked down the trail and slipped into the woods to make sure the girl didn't get trampled. She trusted her husband, but she had to make sure. The old man just shook his head and walked over to his daughter. Cora had to stop herself from chewing on a fingernail as she observed, instead pulling her lip between her teeth worriedly.

Regina was beaming radiantly. She had only ridden Rocinante a few times, but she already loved him. The horse was special and they had a connection, and that made Henry so proud. Her smile reminded Henry of how he had felt when he had gotten his first horse.

Henry patted Rocinante's neck and looked up to meet his daughter's eyes.

"Are you ready dear?" he asked and Regina nodded excitedly. "Good, let's get this show on the road!"

Regina didn't do well. She fell off Rocinante a couple of times, but both her and her Daddy had laughed at it. The horse licked Regina's face and rubbed his neck along her torso every time she had fallen off. As if he were checking to make sure she was ok and encouraging her to get back up.

Cora's heart skipped a beat every time the girl fell, but she stayed put. She spoke dozens of quiet prayers. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but could see that they were having a good time. This made her happy, but as she realized she could be happy and smiling with them her small smile dropped. Her worry would only cause Regina to do even worse.

After a while Henry had decided to show his daughter "How it's done!", in his own words. Regina had gasped when she watch him and her horse gallop around the jumping course flawlessly. He really was a natural with the horses and Regina loved seeing him ride.

Cora's heart swelled for the man she loved, as she leaned against a solid tree. Watching her family be happy without her hurt, but she knew to keep her distance. She knew that her presence was never really welcomed.

Regina dismounted Rocinante and patted his neck as she let him back into the pasture. He nibbled on her shirt again and licked her face. Regina just laughed and showed him an apple. He bowed for her and got his treat. Finally!

"I'll see you tomorrow boy, okay?" Regina said and scratched his ear and walked back up to the house.

As soon as she got near the house, her smile faded. She saw a person watching her. She had her heart in her throat and wished it wasn't Daniel waiting for her back there. She wished it was Emma. Her dear beloved Emma. God how she missed her..

As Regina looked toward the road, she frowned and stopped. What the hell? She hurried up the steps when she saw Belle standing outside the fence. She casts a quick glance over her shoulder, making sure Daniel wasn't watching her.

"Belle? What are you doing here?" Regina asked, making sure her voice was low and didn't draw any attention.

"What do you think? I'm worried about you! Everyone is! You just disappeared! Emma is a wreck!" Belle shot back and tugged on her bottom lip. "Ruby finally told me this stupid thing about you and Daniel, and I wanted to hear from you personally." Belle paused as she chose the best way to go about this "You're...a couple and he lives here now? Is it really true?" she finally asked and Regina's tense posture was really all the answer she needed.

"Yes, it's true…" Regina sighed and felt her eyes tear up after hearing that Emma wasn't doing well. Of course she wasn't doing well! "And I can't do anything about this Miss French... I'm sorry" she tried desperately to hold back the sob

"The hell you can't! Don't behave like a fucking victim Regina! You have me! You have Ruby and Granny and you have a girlfriend who loves you to pieces, and you're just hiding out here and playing a fucking victim?!" Regina wasn't surprised by Belle's reaction. They had fought numerous times through the years. Not many people knew about the petite brunette's temper.

"It's not that easy!" Regina snarled. "If I just run away, my mother is going to destroy me! She's going to disown me. Sell Rocinante and…"

"For fuck's sake Regina! Are you playing house to please your mother and keep a stupid fucking horse!?"

"He's not just a horse! Belle, he was the last thing Daddy gave me before he died, and I don't care more about him then Emma but it's not just…" Belle grabbed Regina's arm but immediately let go as she heard Regina whimper.

Belle frowned and rolled up Regina's sleeve then gasped when she saw all the bruises.

"What the hell Regina. Is he hitting you?" Belle's anger changed to concern and Regina rolled down her sleeves.

"Please, don't tell Emma!" Regina begged. "She thought that he may have hit me, but I never really confirmed…." she paused as she tried to think of a way to convince her not to say anything "Please?" Before Belle had the chance to answer, Regina heard the front door open and she knew Daniel would be looking for her.

"Sorry Belle, I must go." and with those words Regina left.

Belle stood by the fence for a few more minutes, trying to process the fact Daniel was definitely abusing Regina. She couldn't turn a blind eye to this, but what could she do? Cora would destroy Regina and probably destroy everyone around her as well. Belle signed and decided to take a long walk in the forest just to clear her mind. She knew she had to act fast though. They had to do something! Possibly go to the sheriff. That probably wouldn't do any good though, since Daniel belonged to a prominent family.