A/N: Sorry, guys! Between finishing Wish I Were Here, some SQ role playing, and getting a little bit of work done, I lost focus on this story. I'm hoping I'll be able to power through to the end.
The pounding of hooves drove the girls apart. Emma tugged her discarded shirt back on, while Regina struggled to button hers quickly. As the sound grew louder, Emma passed Regina her jacket, zipping it up over the still open shirt. They scrambled to their feet just in time for a group of knights to come into view.
"Papers?" one of them demanded, holding out a gloved hand.
Emma and Regina shared a look before the blonde spoke up. "We're not from here."
"Spies, then?" It was the knights' turn to look to each other.
"Not very good ones if they are. I'd wager they're witches."
"They're not exactly dressed like either." One of the knights dismounted and approached them. "If you don't have papers from the White or Gold kingdoms, we have to take you in."
"We've come from the, uh, the area without a name," Emma offered.
"The disputed territory," Regina chimed in. "But we're from another realm."
The knights laughed at that. "That's the best one I've heard all week." The one on the ground pulled a pair of cuffs from his saddlebag and clapped them around Regina's wrists.
Run, she mouthed to Emma, but the blonde stayed in place, offering her hands willingly when another pair was found. She kept her eyes on Regina, making sure the other girl knew that no one was being abandoned. The fear in the brunette's eyes was what drove her to say the only thing she could think of. "I'm the Queen's daughter."
There was silence, not even the horses daring to move. The knight finished tightening Emma's cuffs, taking a firm hold of the chain between her wrists before he slapped her.
Emma had been slapped enough times in the past that she knew how to move with the blow, how to lessen the sting, but she wasn't expecting the armored gloves. Regina cried out when the knight made contact, but Emma was too stunned to react. The chainmail left hundreds of tiny scratches on her cheek, and the weight of the blow left the faint taste of blood in her mouth.
"Emma!" Regina moved closer to inspect the blonde, but the other knights got off their horses and one of them held her back.
"That's treason of the worst kind." The knight was still holding Emma's handcuffs in front of her. "Lying about royal birth is illegal as it is, but impersonating the lost princess? That is truly vile."
Emma probed the inside of her cheek with her tongue before speaking. "She has nothing to do with this. I… I forced her to come along."
"She seems pretty complicit." The knight restraining Regina grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her neck which was dotted with marks from Emma's attentions. The other knights laughed. "Unless we need to add assault to your charges."
"She hasn't hurt me," Regina said firmly, relief flooding her features when he let go of her hair.
"Don't worry, the punishment for spying is only a little time locked up," the third knight said as he chained the cuffs to the horses. "But with treason, anything is possible."
As soon as the guards left, Emma and Regina rushed to the bars that separated their holding cells. "Does it hurt?" Regina asked, lightly touching her fingertips to Emma's face just above the torn skin.
Emma winced but shook her head. "I can handle it."
Regina leaned her head against the bars. She didn't know if she should scold the girl for getting herself into so much trouble, or worry about her, or both. "Emma," she said, her voice quivering with the mix of emotions.
"Hey." Emma's tone was soothing. "It's going to be okay. I've gotten out of worse."
"Worse than being held in some sort of medieval prison and charged with treason?"
"Well, no." Emma took both of Regina's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. "What I wouldn't give to be back in the forest with you."
"What I wouldn't give to be back at the mall with you." Regina couldn't help smiling. This was a terrible situation, but she was so happy to have Emma near that she couldn't stay down for long.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Emma gave her an encouraging kiss. "God, when that guy touched you I wanted to kill him."
"They hurt you far worse than they hurt me," Regina pointed out, her eyes lighting on Emma's injury again.
Regina was all but pressed up against the bars, and Emma wanted nothing more than to somehow have her closer. She grabbed the lapels of the jacket she'd put on the brunette and tugged her forward, capturing her lips in a desperate kiss that Regina returned full-force. They had no idea what might come next, but at least for now they were together.
Snow White scanned over the list of political prisoners as she did every week. It irritated her advisors to no end. She pardoned far too many, keeping only those who had committed the worst crimes or could be used to get her own men back from the Red Kingdom. She wouldn't sign off on the death penalty, and many were starting to think she was going soft.
She knew what they were saying about her, and she knew that it was true.
Snow ruled the kingdom alone for several years after her father's death, and although she was young, she was fair and held her own in negotiations with King George and King Midas. She'd proven herself a strong wartime queen when her marriage sparked a conflict between the kingdoms. She'd gone to battle herself, commanding the troops beside her husband.
With her husband and child at stake, she'd been a formidable opponent.
But now, she was weary of Charming's never-ending attacks. She didn't ride into battle, and she left all military decisions to commanders she rarely even talked to.
She didn't want this war, so Charming was winning it. With no threat of real punishment for treason, more and more of her people were defecting. Eighteen years was too long to force the kingdoms to act out a fight between husband and wife, and they were tired of it and tired of Snow.
But Charming rejected every peace envoy, so the fight wore on.
Snow seldom left her bedchambers these days. She was more than 40 now, so there would never be another child. Charming vowed that he would never forgive her, yet she couldn't imagine opening her heart to another man. She would live out her days alone, and the war would die with her.
All she had was the tiny glimmer of hope that sparked when she reached one of the last entries on the list of prisoners: Two young women found in Western Forest. No identification and strange garb. "Regina" sentenced to 3 months imprisonment for trespassing on the Queen's lands and spying. "Emma" sentenced to death for trespassing on the Queen's lands, spying, impersonating a royal, and treason (impersonating the Princess).
She rose to her feet at that, gaping at the page. Her advisors didn't even look up. "Your Majesty, none of these imposters has ever been the true Princess."
Snow didn't acknowledge the comment, instead sending orders for the execution to be stayed. For the first time in months, she called for maids to dress her for riding. The Queen was going out.