AN: I hate to say this guys, but I reckon there's only 4/5 chapters of this story left :-( though for some of you I'm sure that will be a relief ;-) Thanks for all the wonderful comments. Amazingly, they just keep coming, and I really do love to read all your thoughts. Anyway, this chapter is filled with Swan Queen fluff so let me know what you think…and heads up; next chapter Emma makes a decision and Regina gives into her desires… ;-)

"Good evening, your majesty."

I'm back in the Acropolis, and it's the middle of the night. The moon is high in a sky, clear and filled with stars.

I can feel Thanatos' gaze pinning me from above, and I look up to find him sat atop a tall stone pillar. In the shadows I can only make out his outline, but he's crouched down, his shoulders hunched and wings folded back like a life sized gargoyle.

"It's, Regina!" I correct, refusing to be addressed by such an ill-fitting moniker.

He dips his head in gracious acknowledgement and the long shadows move with him. "Good evening, Regina," He tries again, his voice echoing across the stone buildings of the empty plateau, "How are you feeling?"

Having so recently fallen asleep in Emma's arms, I can honestly say that I feel better than expected. I'd happily facedown every god in Greek mythology for the chance to end every day in the same perfect way as today.

I'm not about to tell him that however.

"You're here to drain my life force and you want to make small talk?" I ask, disgusted by his attempt to engage in conversation, "Even the Evil Queen would have baulked at that."

He blinks through the darkness, his eyes shining like tiny, flickering stars, "There's no excuse for poor manners!"

"Well don't expect a response!" I huff.

Jumping from the pillar, he dives towards the ground, his large wings unfolding to catch him before he falls too far. He flaps them once, and the motion is enough to allow him to swoop down to my side. He lands a few feet in front of me.

"Very well," He replies, "If that's the way you want to play it we'll just get straight down to business."

He raises his hands to begin draining me, but stops short of hitting me with a powerful burst of magic. "Oh, but a word of warning before we do," he chastises, "I know that you've got some strange sort of relationship going on with your True Love, but don't think about seeking her out for help. I've blocked your ability to call out to her in your dreams."

The importance of what he said must have registered in some part of my brain but right at this moment, I only hear a few choice words.

"Emma's my True Love?" I gasp, the very idea filling me with a comforting warmth. Of course it was a possibility that I always suspected, but one that I could scarcely believe in. Even now, I'm not sure whether I can truly trust the words of the God of death.

"Why of course!" He replies, his wide grin filled with merriment. "Just because she continues to fool herself with that pirate of hers, it doesn't make what you share any less real." He steps forward, tapping me patronisingly on the end of my nose, "Only True Loves can communicate through dreams, you know."

I feel several conflicting emotions at once. Excitement at the realisation that what I feel isn't unrequited. Nervous that at some point in the near future, Emma and I will have to talk about it. And scared at the thought that for the first time in my life, my happy ending is within reach.

But above all that, the one emotion that I feel stronger than any other is determination. Determination to beat Thanatos at his sick little game and return to Storybrooke to claim what is mine.

Squaring my shoulders, I clench my jaw and stare him down in the dark "You won't win this," I state, finally believing it true. "I will find a way to beat you!"

He laughs, a low, dark chuckle that sends a shiver down my spine, and raises his hands once more. "Remind me to worry about that when you actually find a way to fight back, dear!" He retorts, his body oozing with confidence as the magic flows from his fingers.

I close my eyes, bracing myself for the energy drain that I know is coming, but it doesn't feel the same this time. Last night it felt like being hit by lightning, I could actually feel the life being sucked from my body. This time however, it feels more like a gentle vibration, like a massage that's making my entire body relax.

His attack stops almost as soon as it begins, "…oh now that is unexpected!"

I open my eyes to catch him staring at me with a puzzled frown.

"What is?" I ask, uncertain as to what has made him stop so abruptly.

A long finger slowly points up and down my body, his eyes studying me intensely, "You appear to have erected a shield," he informs.

Shocked, I glance down at myself, "What?!"

To prove his point, he fires a single bolt of magic at me. I watch in amazement as most of it is absorbed by a shimmering white film that only appears when the magic hits it.

"It's powerful magic too," he observes curiously, "and light." His eyes narrow suspiciously, "Now where did a dark magic user such as yourself, get that sort of power?"

I offer him a smug grin, "I have light magic!"

"Not anywhere near enough to stop me dear," He laughs incredulously, snorting derisively at my hopeful suggestion.

"This is enough to stop you!?"

"Well…no," He smirks proudly, "but it'll certainly slow me down. It now takes more of my energy to drain less of yours, you see. We'll need a few more sessions than I thought we would. Unless you would be so kind as to take the shield down?"

As I didn't consciously raise the shield I have no idea how to take it down. My thoughts instantly flick to Emma, to the connection we share and the fact that I fell asleep in her arms. Is her magic somehow protecting me? Is that even possible?

If Thanatos is right and we really are True Loves, then in theory, anything is possible. All I need to do now is convince Emma to spend every night with me until this is over. Though considering I just sent her back to her pirate, I highly doubt her willingness to cooperate without knowing the truth.

Masking my own confusion on the subject, I confidently refuse his ridiculous request, "The shield stays until I find a way to fight back…." I reply. Pretending to have complete control of the situation.

Testing a theory, a quickly fire off a burst of my own magic, but the strike barely knocks him off balance.

I'm disappointed that my attacks haven't strengthened with my defence, but I'm now more certain than ever that the shield has something to do with the blonde Saviour lying in my bed. If nothing else, Emma may have bought me the time I need to discover a way to fight back.

A devilish smirk forms on my lips, and it's an expression I know the Evil Queen would be proud of. For the first time since this war began, I genuinely know that I can win.

Oblivious to my new belief, Thanatos grins triumphantly, "Still don't pack much of a punch do you!" He remarks.

"Oh but I will," I reply, my voice dripping with dark promise.

His cocky grin falters, and a look of slight fear passes over his face. Finally, he's seen the strong, dangerous woman that an entire realm feared. He knows that he's finally met his match, and it worries him.

With no immediate comeback available, he begins to attack me the only way he knows how, by draining me once more. Certain that my greatest hour is yet to come, I stand back and let him.

Thanks to Emma, this attack won't drain me as much as the previous one and I'll wake tomorrow with more energy, and a determination to win.

I always believed that Emma and I were stronger together, and tonight was the night that the blonde finally proved it to me.

xxx

I violently jolt awake, an unpleasant side-effect to signal the end of Thanatos' attack, and find myself ensconced in the arms of a sleeping, Emma Swan. The rush of adrenaline slowly ebbs, the fight or flight draining from my battle-ready limbs when I realise that I'm safe, and I'm exactly where I want to be.

Blinking away the final remnants of sleep, I take a moment to glance around my surroundings. The vault lies in darkness, the clock on my bedside table informing me that it's a little before dawn. Emma has lovingly placed a glass of water by my bedside, and her red leather jacket is hanging off the bottom bedpost. It's not much, but those little signs of her continued presence create a peaceful tranquillity that I never want to escape from. If I could always wake feeling this safe and content, then I would never want or desire for anything more.

As reality slowly creeps back in I realise that I'm still tired. Not as exhausted as yesterday, but certainly not as rested as I should be after more than twelve hours of sleep. My muscles ache in an unpleasant way and I have a slight headache, but for now the pain in my chest seems to have subsided. Whatever Emma unknowingly did, it very possibly saved my life.

Without disturbing my sleeping companion, I prop myself up on my elbow to study the blonde. She's laid on her stomach in her jeans and tank top. Her arm is thrown across my abdomen and her hair is gloriously splayed across her pillow. She's smiling gently and the sight catches my breath. She truly is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Reaching out, I gently brush a stray strand of soft hair from her face. Thanatos said she was my True Love. Was he telling the truth? Was I right when I wondered if everything I've ever done in my life – every decision I've ever made – was to lead me here, to her side?

I have been many things in my life but never the best version of myself, at least, not until I met Emma. Does my fairy-tale end with the daughter of my once, mortal enemies? Is this, right here, my happily ever after?

My gaze falls onto the gold chain around her neck and I instantly know what it holds. Hook's ring, the one he gave to her when she became the Dark One. I know that she loves him in the same way that I loved Robin and Daniel, and I respect that. I know that for her, this decision is hard. But I'm now certain that whatever she feels for him, it doesn't compare to what she feels for me. Ultimately, she will choose me. I now believe that as strongly as I believe that I will beat Thanatos.

The thought of my enemy reminds me of our latest confrontation and how much I owe to Emma for feeling as strong as I do.

I lean over to press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth, "Thank you," I whisper, expressing my gratitude to her sleeping form.

Her smile widens at my tender touch, her arm tightening around my mid-section, and I lay back down and snuggle deep into her side. I'm alive, I'm slowly getting stronger, and I'm wrapped up in the all-consuming presence of the love of my life.

It's with those happy, contented thoughts, that I slowly drift back to sleep.

xxx

I push open the doors of the town hall and step out into the garden. It's a gloriously sunny day. The birds are singing, the flowers are in full bloom, everything is perfect in the world.

Bizarrely however, I find myself dressed in one of my old three piece suits. The black one with the white piping. One that now sits at the back of my wardrobe, untouched and unused since the day the Dark Curse broke.

Out of habit, I smooth down the jacket, my eyes drifting across the lawn until they land on the one thing that probably explains this unusual setting and my strange attire.

Emma.

She's sat on the stone bench in front of my apple tree, dressed in the exact same outfit she wore on the night we first met. It's as if she mentally rewound the clock in her sleep, forcing us to relive an early, more challenging time of our relationship.

Feeling infinitely lighter just for seeing her, I slowly walk over to the bench and sit down beside her.

"Hello," I greet coyly, unable to ignore the importance of Emma calling me to a time long before Hook and Robin arrived. A time when all the tension in the town was chiefly between its Sheriff and Mayor.

She gives me a timid sideways glance, "Hi!" She replies, shyly. "I guess I found you tonight huh!"

Her comment is a reference to her complaint that though she searched, she couldn't find me last night in her dreams. I wonder if she's at all aware that I'm only here now because she protected me against my enemy.

I clear my throat, still uncertain of whether or not I want her to know about my fight with Thanatos. "You stayed," I observe, alluding to the fact that our bodies are currently entwined in the waking world.

She nods, slightly offended that I'd ever think otherwise, "Of course I did!"

That early awkwardness creeps back in. The long silences and uncertain moments we shared on her first visit to my vault. I can't explain it but it feels as though something has changed between us, as though the mood has shifted to something deeper, something more meaningful.

"No one's ever done anything like that for me before," I admit, failing to keep the emotion from my voice.

She turns to face me at that, swinging her leg over the bench so that she's straddling it. "Regina, when are going to realise that I would do anything for you?"

My mouth works wordlessly, my brain unable to comprehend that she just got as close to a love confession as she ever has. Deep in my chest I feel my heart soar, filling me with a warmth that I've never felt before. I wonder if she's ever said as much to her pirate?

"Will Hook be mad?" I ask, finding my voice once more but unable to muster enough bravery to address the real meaning of her statement.

She shrugs, "That I stayed to check you were okay? Honestly, I don't care if he is. Besides, he knows what you mean to, Henry."

Just like me she's cleverly evaded the white elephant in the room. By putting the emphasis on our son, she's conveniently detracted from her own feelings. Will we ever find the courage to just sit and down and talk? To open our hearts without fear of rejection or ridicule?

I nervously glance down to my hands and am reminded of the way I'm dressed. On instinct, my eyes flick back up to look at my apple tree. "Why are we here?" I ask.

Emma follows my gaze to the now, healthy tree, and the shining fruit that glistens in the warm sun. "This place is the very embodiment of who you are," She replies, as if it's the most obvious answer in the world. "The town hall, your apple tree…I thought if I sat here long enough you were bound to show up at some point."

The thought of her sat here waiting for me does something to my insides that though I'm desperate to confess, I know she isn't yet ready to hear. I take a deep breath to stop myself from revealing my feelings. Emma knows where I stand and what I want, she'll come to me when she's ready.

"I don't think shared dreams work like that," I explain, more than happy to change the subject out of fear of a slip of the tongue. "It's more of a physical connection, a sort of mental telephone call."

Her smile stretches into a lazy grin, "So who's doing the calling?"

My gaze shifts across to meet playful green eyes and I raise a single eyebrow, "That would be you dear," I inform, with the sort of egotistical pride that fuelled the fire in our early relationship, "You always were persistent when it came to me."

She laughs at that, a rare, cute dimple making itself known. Emma's life – all our lives – are filled with too much danger for that smile to make regular appearances. I want to give her a reason to smile like that every single day.

When the smile fades, her gaze moves, drifting across the garden and back to the tree in deep thought. "Do you think we knew then?" She asks absentmindedly. "Despite all the animosity, do you think we always knew that there was something more between us?"

She gives me just about enough information to understand that she's talking about the old us. The two fiercely, independent women who once stood in this very garden and threatened each other.

"If we did then we weren't aware of it," I reply, remembering the murderous rage I felt when I stepped out of my office to find Emma sawing through a limb of my tree. "I certainly wasn't at any rate. You were lucky I didn't kill you the day you started to cut down my tree. Believe me I've killed for less."

I've never really thought about it before but the strongest of all our emotions – desire, need, want, lust – they're rooted in passion. As are the less enjoyable emotions such as rage, hate and vengeance.

My entire relationship with Emma is built on passion. We both have so much of it inside us that even then, it always led to one of two breaking points, fighting or fucking. Only back then we always opted for the former.

Beside me, Emma chuckles, "Oh I believe you!" She agrees, "But I never feared you then. Not really." I turn to give her a questioning look and she smiles affectionately, "Sure you were infuriating, and stubborn and downright psychotic at times…but I never believed that you would ever really hurt me."

I scoff at her apparently selective memory and the reminder of one particular attack that nearly killed our son, "How quickly you forget the apple turnover!" I quip.

"If a sleeping curse was the worst you could do then I really don't understand the whole Evil part of your title," She argues, much to my surprise.

My expression falls, the memory of too many unforgivable crimes, rushing back in. "I wish it was the worst I did…" I reply, the sentence dying as my throat constricts painfully. "Anyway," I continue, brushing it off with a shake off my head, "you were hardly angelic. You waltzed into my town and refused to leave it again. You took every opportunity to anger me. You ran for sheriff, you stole my son, you even made a best friend of my worst enemy!"

She grins, that wide smile that I love to elicit so much, "And you loved every second of it," She counters easily, "You thrived off the challenge. You'd been bored stiff for twenty-eight years when suddenly from nowhere, I came and threatened to take away everything you'd spent so long carefully building. I woke you up!"

I find that I can't argue with that. She was a breath of fresh air, a flash of colour in an otherwise drab life, "Indeed you did, Miss Swan."

Her eyes flare with something akin to arousal, "You know I always kind of liked it when you called me that."

Surprised by her admission, I turn to look directly at her, "Really?"

She nods, "Yeah, despite your murderous tendencies there's something very alluring about you, madam mayor."

She looks me up and down in a way that she hasn't for years, a way that makes her look about ready to eat me alive, and I feel the tendrils of desire stirring low in my abdomen.

"I mean look at you," She comments, gesturing to the outfit that she sub-consciously chose. "You're spikey and mean, and you can make grown men cry with that death stare of yours. You dress so immaculately that you stand out in any crowd. You walk into every room as if you own it…"

"That's because I probably do," I sass, feeling something of our old dynamic return.

Her grin widens and she presses on, "…You command respect regardless of whether you're right or wrong, and you just stand there on this pedestal, high above the town, looking down on us all. You appear so unapproachable…"

I frown, "Why do I get the feeling there's a but coming?"

"Because there is," She teases. "But…." She drags the word out, emphasising its importance and I can't help but smile her how adorable she's being. "Despite all that. Despite looking every inch, the Evil Queen that Henry's book talks about, you're not. When you actually let someone in - when you allow someone to get close - it becomes so obvious that all of that is just for show. Underneath that hard shell you're actually really sweet, and kind, and you're so unsure of everything, you're not confident at all." She shrugs, "You're just a big softie, and it makes me wonder how it took me so long to see it."

"Well I didn't exactly make it easy for you," I reply, aware that even in admitting that, Emma's probably said more than she should. "It's funny, you said that I never sacred you, but you sure scared me."

Her smile weakens, a hint of hurt lurking in her gorgeous eyes, "I did?"

I nod, "Since the day I married Leopold I've always been seen as my title, Queen, villain, mayor… You were the first person in a very long time to just see Regina and I didn't know what to do, I'd forgotten how to be…me!"

I take a deep shaky breath, uncertain when our conversation turned so soulful, but now that we've started down this path, I'm not sure that I can stop. "We spent the best part of our early relationship intent on destroying each other," I hesitantly continue, "but sometimes, during rare, fleeting moments, you'd give me this look, and it wasn't one of hatred. You weren't looking through me, you were looking at me, like you wanted to understand me. And the few times we touched you never tried to pull away."

"You fascinated me," She admits, as shocked by this newfound openness as I am. "It was so easy to agree with Henry and Mary Margret. To see the cold, cruel mayor that the whole town saw. But when I looked at you…" She dips her head to study my face, "...really looked at you, I saw a beautiful, lonely woman that I never expected to find"

Our eyes lock in a moment of shared realisation. What we have is pure, true and so much deeper than either of us could have imagined. My gaze flicks down to her lips and I want nothing more than to sweep her into my arms and kiss her with everything I feel, to lay to claim to her. But I can't, I won't, when this happens – and it will happen – it will be on her terms and in the real world.

I try to express as much but don't get past a long exhale of her name, "Emma…"

"I'm sorry," She quickly apologises, shaking her head as if too free it from the undeniable pull dragging us together, "I don't mean to make the situation any harder…"

I know she doesn't, and I know that she's struggling with the sheer power of this as much as I. Neither of us have ever been open with our feelings, we've both spent too long wearing armour to ever willingly let anyone in. When you add Hook to the equation I can only imagine the tangled web of emotions that must be raging through the Saviour right now. I need to give her time.

"Have you given your relationship another go?" I ask, not wanting to break the tender moment but eager to find out where I currently stand.

"I've tried but…" She shakes her head, her voice drifting off as green eyes meet mine once more, "It's really hard when all I can think about is you…"

"I know the feeling," I mutter in reply.

"You think about me?"

I hadn't intended for her to hear my response but now that she has, I can't ignore the shocked look on her face. "Are you kidding?" I ask incredulously "Of course I do. I always have. Even when I wanted to kill you I was still thinking about you." My voice drops to a low whisper, "You're not an easy person to forget, Miss Swan."

She sighs heavily and growls, running her hands through her wavy princess curls, "We've really got ourselves into a mess here haven't we?" She states.

"Yes," I agree reluctantly, "but I'll wait for you. However, long it takes."

She smiles sadly, "And what if I choose Killian?"

"Then I'll wait longer."

She laughs at that. A soft, gentle laugh that's as nervous as it is hopeful. "You say that like you know we're meant to be together."

I look her straight in the eye, willing her to see the certainty in my expression, "Maybe I do," I reply.

When she looks away to hide a blush, I try to explain the reasoning behind my sudden bluntness, "It bothers you that you've never shared True Love's kiss with, Hook. But did you know that I've never experienced it either?"

"With Hook?" She mocks, her vulnerability getting the better of such an intimate moment, "Well thank god for that!" At my pointed look she quickly returns serious, "…no I didn't know that."

I swallow sharply, my stomach twisting at the thought of what I'm about to reveal, "I'll bet you also don't know that when our magic's combined it turns the exact same colour as True Love."

Her eyes widen in surprise, "True Love has a colour?"

I nod, "Rumple made a bottle of it from the DNA of your parents, I saw it once. And the only other time I've seen such a vibrant colour of pink was when our magic was combined."

We both blush a deep shade of red and break eye contact. Try as we might, there's no denying what such a statement means.

"Wow that's…" Emma clears her throat nervously, "I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything," I quickly reply, having never intended to put her in such an uncomfortable position. The last thing I want to do is force her hand. No, I intend to win it. "Just think about it," I suggest.

She studies my expression, intently. Her eyes skimming over every angle and line on my face. "You really are beautiful," she breathes, "Do you know that? Stunningly, amazingly beautiful. You're a living work of art…" I flush a deeper shade of red and drop my head to hide my embarrassment, "…and there's that shy smile that is all Regina and so far removed from the Evil Queen, that it makes me doubt that she ever even existed."

The proud woman inside sparks to life and I throw her a mock villainous glare, "Are you calling me weak, Sheriff?" I challenge playfully.

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it, Madame Mayor," She grins, her expression quickly becoming serious once more. "But whatever it is that you're fighting right now out there in the waking world, I will give you the strength to get through it."

I think of how she's holding me in her arms right now, of how she protected me against Thanato's magic, "You've already started…" I reply.

She reaches out to stroke my cheek but quickly pulls back when her fingers pass straight through me.

"What the hell!?" She demands, swiping her arm across my torso and achieving the same results.

In truth, I'm as shocked as she is, having no idea what this means. Our eyes meet again but this time they're full of uncertainty and fear, both of us knowing that whatever this signifies it won't be good.

My instinct is to lie, to make up some ridiculous excuse that will calm her worry and stop her from searching for an answer in the waking world. But I love her, and if this means what I think it does then maybe she deserves to know the truth.

Needing more time, more answers, a way out of this ridiculous mess, I momentarily panic. And as she opens her mouth to ask me the one question that I'm terrified of answering, I apologise with a hasty shake of my head, and promptly force myself to wake up.