The days following the grand ball were a blur for Regina. Leaving the only house she had ever known would have been hard enough, but there was a lifestyle associated with her new position that was a radical change from the relative freedom she had had with her parents. Here, every waking moment was scripted; from breakfast to supper her days were filled with getting to know the castle and grounds, the new servants, being fitted for a new wardrobe, even lessons to teach her how to act like a princess.

The only part of her day she really enjoyed was the time she got to spend with Snow. The little girl was so smart and full of life, sometimes Regina forgot she was talking to a child instead of an adult. Until Snow would take off after a butterfly that had had the misfortune of fluttering across their path on a walk in the gardens, of course.

Snow half-skipped along the gravel path, Regina's hand clutched tightly in her own. She had spent much of her short life alone, and was excited to have a sister to play with her.

"The gardens are my favorite place in the whole world!"

Regina smiled at her. "Really? The whole world?"

"Yup!"

"How do you know if you haven't seen the whole world yet?"

Snow stopped short, screwing up her mouth in thought.

"Well, I learned that no flower is the same as any other flower, even though they look alike sometimes. So there's no place in the world that's exactly the same as my garden. I don't have to see all the other ones to know that this one is my favorite."

Regina blinked. She was pretty sure there was logic in there, somewhere. Maybe you just had to be an eight-year-old to get it.

"You're too smart for me, Snow."

The little girl wrapped her arms around Regina in an impromptu hug.

"I'm glad you're marrying my brother. We'll be sisters and you can play in the garden with me every day!"

"That makes me happy too."

"There's just one thing I don't understand. How did you fall in love with him so fast?"

"What?"

"Well, when you fall in love with someone you marry them. Was it love at first sight."
Regina kneeled down to put herself at eye level with Snow.

"People don't always get married for love. Sometimes they have to think about other things as well. Like being your sister, for instance, or helping your brother run the kingdom if he becomes king."

"So you're not in love with him?" Snow looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh, honey, it's not bad. Emmett and I get along just fine. I promised to marry him, and I have to keep my promise whether I love him or not."

"But – but what about true love?"

"True love doesn't happen to everyone, but when it does, it's the most powerful magic of all. Everything will work out, I promise."

"Really?"

"Really really."

XxXx

The waxing moon spread silvery tendrils over Regina's bed, illuminating the bedroom with a soft glow and caressing the young woman's face. She paid no heed to her ghostly admirer's ministrations, tossing and turning as she thought about her future; within a week the moon would be full and she would be a married woman. It would be the first full moon of spring, a time of growth and fertility, of balance. A perfect time to get married.

Married.

And she had no idea what to do about it.

Sure, she knew the motions. She'd been trained and practiced until she knew every movement, every word of the ceremony.

But after that? She had no clue.

Not for the first time she wished she had a friend in the castle. The closest thing she had was Snow, and she was not about to ask an eight-year-old what happened on a wedding night. Well, she knew the basic idea – you don't live in the countryside and ride horses all your life without learning something about...that. But she had no idea what the Prince would expect. What if she was horrible at it? Or, possibly worse, what if she was good? She couldn't imagine being in bed every night with someone she didn't love, with someone who didn't love her.

Married.

To a man she'd known less than a month.

Her world was spinning out of control and it was all she could do to hold on. On the balcony at the ball, today in the garden; these moments stood out as the few times she'd been able to connect to anyone in this place, but the feelings slipped through her fingers like memories of a dream. At the time they seemed so real, so important...but then she woke up and they faded even as she tried desperately to reclaim them.

One thing was clear; there was no way she was asking her mother.

"Regina?"

She gasped as a dark figure appeared in the doorway, instinctively raising the blanket to cover herself and opening her mouth to scream.

"Wait, don't! It's me!"

The figure moved into the dim light. It was Prince Emmett, dressed only in his shirtsleeves and rough pants, a dark cloak brushing his boot-tops.

"What are you doing? You can't be in here! Get out!" Regina hissed.

Emmett just looked slightly confused as Regina motioned for him to get the hell out. "But I-"

When the door swung shot behind him, Regina pulled on a robe and opened it again, just enough for them to talk.

"I was undressed!"

"You sleep naked?"

"Of course not! But you can't just walk into my room like that!"

"Why not?"

Regina rested her forehead against the cool wood of the door. At this point she was wondering if he was really that thick-headed or just determined to annoy her.

"What did you want?"

"I have a surprise for you. Put on some clothes. I'll wait."

Regina sighed and wondered if the good people of the kingdom knew that their Prince was insane. Regardless, she slipped into a light dress and drew a cloak around herself for warmth. True to his word, Emmett was leaning against the wall outside her door, waiting for her.

Regina crossed her arms in annoyance. "Well? What's this big surprise?"

Emmett smirked and took her hand, leading her downstairs and onto the castle grounds. The night was cold and the grass wet, and Regina shivered as it soaked through her thin slippers.

"The stables?"
"You'll see."

There was a light burning in one stall as the stable master and an assistant milled around, removing dirty hay and speaking in low voices. Emmett lead Regina to the stall door and she could see a tired and very grumpy mare lying on the floor. As she watched, the wet nose of a newborn foal pushed its way into the world for the first time.

"I know how much you love horses, so I told the stable master to let me know the moment she began foaling." Amniotic fluid rushed onto the floor of the stall and Emmett paled visibly. "I didn't know it would be so...messy."

Regina was tempted to laugh at seeing the normally controlled Prince so flustered, but all her attention was taken up as the head of the little foal appeared, followed by the neck, shoulders, and finally the front legs. With an impressive effort on the part of the mare, the foal was soon laying on the the floor by its mother.

With a pang in her chest Regina realized that the foal wasn't breathing. Ignoring the surprised shouts of the stable master, she found herself kneeling next to the foal, whipping her cloak off and rhythmically massaging its chest. It was so small, so weak; sweat dropped down her face as she redoubled her efforts. She couldn't let up, couldn't lose this fragile life. Even as Emmett placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, whispering for her to just let go, she couldn't stop. Everything might be crazy and out of control, she might be giving up everything else she'd ever known, but this... this was something she knew. The is was something she could do.

Breath. She focused all of her will, all of her being on that one word. Breath, just once. Just one time and I can help you. I can save you. Please, just breathe.

A tingle, like lightning, coursed across her skin. Suddenly, she felt the life start to flow back into the tiny body, felt the lungs shudder and expand. She almost couldn't believe it herself as she came back to the stall once more and felt the stares of the three men around her. The mare was standing now and started cleaning her foal – a filly, Regina noticed tiredly, as Emmett helped her to her feet.

Regina suddenly realized what she had done. "I used to sneak away and help with the horses, when I was little. I'm sorry, I-"

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen." The prince's voice was awed and rough.

Regina blushed. When her mother had found her helping the stable boy feed the horses, she'd locked her in her room for several days until she promised to be good.

Emmett's voice broke through the haze of memory. "I know what it can be like here... no one to talk to, nothing to do but learn how to pretend to be someone else. It can get lonely. So I thought, maybe..." His voice was unusually flustered. "The filly is yours, if you want her."

Regina's eye's widened. To have something to truly call her own...Of course, she was going to be a princess. There were very few limits on what she could buy, but everything she had came through the King, or Emmett. She could stroll into the stable and ride any horse she wanted, but they could never by any stretch of the imagination be considered 'hers'. The horses didn't know her. The servants didn't know her. Every request she made would be greeted with an implicit 'And what would the Prince think of that?' If Emmett or the King was in the room, the servant would invariably look to them before doing whatever Regina asked of them.

Her heart swelled with the possibility of being responsible for this young life. She was already thinking of how to raise her and train her.

Of course, Emmett was still waiting for an answer, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot. With a wide smile, Regina spontaneously hugged him, pressing a swift kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you."