As much as I would like to own them, all the characters and plot of Once Upon A Time belong to ABC – I own nothing.
I loved this prompt and I've always loved the idea of a Swan Queen Enchanted Forest AU so here you go. I kind of follows the prompt but I'll let you read and decide for yourselves.
Big thank you to people who are reviewing, still liking this and following etc. It does mean a lot that you like my stuff so let's continue to have a great week!
SQ Week - Day 5 / Caregiving
Emma groaned as she was thrown to the floor violently, her sword slipping out of her hand on the way down. Moments later Mulan was by her side offering her a hand up and handing her her blade once more, the two women immediately jumping back into battle. The two women fought side by side, Mulan being Emma's right hand woman when it came to things like this, an attack by none other than the evil witch named Cora. Or in other words, Emma's monster of a mother-in-law.
She had been attacking the kingdom more and more frequently and now it was on a weekly basis. Despite the fact that Emma not only had Mulan by her side, along with her father, mother and her best friend Red who was also a werewolf, they were finding it hard to keep up but they never once gave in. They knew that was what Cora wanted and it's why she attacked them regularly but Emma, one of the queens of the White Kingdom, wasn't going to let that happen. Not with the way things were now. If she had to be out here putting her life on the line to keep her family's lives safe, then so be it.
Back to the situation at hand they were engaging with yet another hunting party sent out by the evil witch. Mulan had been scouting that evening and spotted them and it wasn't long before Emma had mustered up her usual group and they were heading out into the surrounding forest of their castle.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder Emma continued, swinging her blade and hitting as many of Cora's guards as possible. They just kept coming but she continued anyway, knowing that she had to keep her kingdom and everybody in it safe, including her wife and four year-old son. She faced another and got hit in the bicep, this one drawing blood, but she continued.
Spinning around on her heels she spotted Mulan almost overrun by more guards. Her first instinct was to run towards her and she swiftly navigated the clearing they were in, ducking just as her father sheathed his blade deep within another guard. Emma expertly jumped back up and was already within helping distance of Mulan.
Her best friend sent her a grateful smile that lasted all of a second before they both worked to get rid of another few guards, one managing to catch Emma as she spun around, his sword grazing her side. She ignored it as an arrow suddenly stuck out of the back of his head, the man falling face first onto the forest floor. When she looked up, panting, she sent a thankful look to her mother who was perched just at the edge of the clearing. Snow nodded and they got back to work.
Both her and Mulan moved to where Red, in her wolf form, had two more enemies pinned down. She growled as she hovered above them and all of a sudden a blade was lodged in both at the exact same time. Just as they looked up thinking it was clear another wave hit, this time Emma not so lucky.
She had managed to fight off a few before an arrow hit her in the shoulder, the blonde desperately not trying to cry out at the poison dipped arrowhead. She grabbed hold of it and as soon as it was free of her arm she found herself blacking out in the middle of the battlefield from whatever had just entered her body and which was most probably sped up by the added combination of blood loss.
The next time she awoke she found herself looking up at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. As she became more aware of her surroundings she felt pain all over her body, the poison having done it's job in incapacitating her. It was still there, she could feel it with her magic, but it wasn't lethal. She probably just had to let it flush out of her system in time.
At least I'm not dead, she thought as she tried sitting up. Ow, my head hurts.
When she reached up to clutch her forehead she heard a familiar and excited voice. "Ma!"
Seconds later she was being assaulted by a very happy Henry. She groaned as he hugged her painful body, the woman finding it hard to breathe as he pressed unknowingly on her still-fresh wounds. Placing a hand on his back she just managed to gasp out, "Henry, I can't breathe"
The little boy understood his mother and he pulled back, although just enough to let her actually take in a breath, the toddler scared that she might disappear if he let her go completely. In her current state she couldn't blame him. She probably looked like hell, and that's why she didn't want him seeing her like that. No little boy should have to see his parent injured like that.
"Henry, where's your mother?"
He knew who she was referring to: Regina. "She downstairs"
Emma smiled at his cute pronunciation and reached out, ruffling his hair before placing a kiss to the top of his head. "Doing what?"
"Food"
"And she left you here?"
He nodded, playing with her fingers. More specifically, the silver wedding band on her left ring finger. "Yeah! She said to look after you"
"So my little knight was left to protect me?"
He looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah! I protect you!"
"That you did little man, that you did"
She pressed another kiss to the top of his head, unable to stop smiling from how proud he looked that he was tasked with looking after her. She knew the real reason why he was here, Regina knew he'd cause havoc down in the kitchen, here the only place he could stay out of trouble. Fortunately for her he was just like her, Emma having got into an exceptional amount of trouble when she was younger. Now she had a son who was just the same.
Shaking her head of her thoughts she tested out how much she could move, finding that the pain wasn't as bad as it was when she first woke up. Sitting up with her feet hanging off the side of the bed she took a few moments to breathe in deep before standing up. It was then that she realized she was in nothing but a pair of shorts and her bra, the modernized pieces of clothing new to the Enchanted Forest only a few years ago. She noticed blood-drenched bandages covering her wounds all over her body and remembered just how close she must have come to dying. She shook her head of her thoughts and moved to put on some more clothes and as soon as she had some pants and a shirt on she turned to her son who was looking at her intently.
She then moved back to the bed and sat down, Henry moving towards her. "Can we snuggle?" He asked, his eyes nothing but irresistible.
She smiled and nodded, laying back on the bed and opening her arms. It was then that he moved closer and soon he was snuggled in her embrace, closely pressed to her uninjured side. He yawned quietly and she found herself repeating the action, her eyes slipping closed as sleep and exhaustion overtook her.
When she opened her eyes the next time she felt Henry's weight gone, probably back in his own room due to Regina when she came back from the kitchen. Speaking of...
Sitting up she rubbed her eyes of sleep and found that it was still dark outside, probably close to morning. A few candles were dotted around the room providing just enough light to make out various items and the flames danced across the stone walls, the warm orange glow somewhat comforting. She glanced to her right and found that the bed was empty, Regina probably having gone to the toilet or something but the sight of a figure stood at their window said other wise.
Getting out of bed as quietly as she could she padded her way over to the other woman who was staring off into the night unaware that Emma was even awake. She only moved when Emma was at her back, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind and coming to rest on her nightgown-clad stomach. At first she tensed but when she recognized the touch of her wife's hands she relaxed, bringing her own hands up to rest on top of Emma's.
"Hey, are you ok?" The blonde whispered, pressing a comforting kiss to the brunette's neck.
Regina nodded. "I had to get up because I wasn't comfortable"
Emma smiled, not at the fact that Regina had to get out of bed, but at what she was referring to. Grinning she let her hands slide from underneath Regina's and towards the silk ties of her nightgown. She gently pulled on the loosely tied pieces of material and her fingertips pulled at the gown until she was able to fit her hands underneath. Regina smiled blissfully as Emma's hands come to rest on her bare stomach where their baby rested.
"Baby Swan causing you problems?" She asked, whispering into her ear.
Regina nodded as she felt her wife's hands start rubbing soothing patterns with her thumbs. Sometimes the blonde knew just where to do it without even having to ask. The same went for when she was pregnant with Henry, Emma having known how to soothe him and calm him down when he started kicking Regina madly. Now pregnant with their second child it was as if it came natural to the other woman, Emma needing no prompting in how to calm her children down, born or unborn.
"Hmm, yes. I had to get out before I woke you up from tossing and turning"
"You could have, I wouldn't have minded. You and the baby are my priority so I can miss a little sleep if it means getting you comfortable"
Regina rolled her eyes at the statement, Emma still being her saviour even in her injured condition. Even if she was barely able to move she would put it aside just to make sure Regina and her family were ok first. Even though her mind wanted to bite back she was more interested in enjoying the situation at hand.
Emma felt her relax in her arms as she continued to rub her thumbs above their baby and she silently thanked whatever God had been watching over her on the battlefield for allowing her to keep on living for her wife and son, including their unborn child.
"Emma?" Regina whispered after what seemed like hours.
"Yeah?"
"I'm tired"
She didn't need to hear anything more, pulling away, although reluctantly, and grabbed Regina's hand to pull her back towards their bed. Once Regina was sat down she frowned when Emma didn't get back into the bed alongside her, instead staying in front of her. When she saw the blonde get down on her knees she knew instantly what she was doing.
Emma moved forward on her knees and she pressed the side of her head against Regina's bare stomach, her hands coming up to rest on either side despite the pain of her fresh wounds. Regina smiled at the action and reached up, running her fingers through the other woman's hair as she listened to their unborn child. Regina felt a kick and watched as Emma looked up at her, pressing a kiss to the place where she had felt it too and rested her chin in the center looking up at her wife with nothing but love and adoration.
Pressing another kiss to her stomach she straightened up and lent forward, pressing a kiss to Regina's lips softly. When she pulled away she got up, albeit extremely painfully, and made her way around the bed to her side although she didn't care, the pain nothing compared to feeling of her and Regina's baby kicking against her hand.
Regina watched as she slid under the thick covers, seeing the slight winces of pain flashing across her face as she readjusted herself. When she herself was under the covers she made Emma sit up.
"What are you doing?"
"Just checking your bandages before you go back to sleep. You haven't had them changed in hours"
Emma then removed her tank top, another recent modern innovation in their clothing, and sat forwards so that Regina could inspect the injuries she had sustained. As she looked Regina decided to clarify.
"As you know I can't use magic when I'm pregnant so Dr. Frankenstein did his best to save you and bandage you up."
"What about the poison?"
"Nothing but a simple poison that incapacitates you when it hits your blood stream. It's effects should wear off soon"
After a few silent moments Emma couldn't take it any more. "I'm sorry"
"For what?" Regina frowned, inspecting the last wound.
"For almost dying. I just had to keep going though"
Regina placed a kiss to Emma's bare back. "I know, it's your duty. I just wish my mother would get the idea and give up on her plans to try and tear us apart, including our kingdom."
"Yeah, you would think after five years she would get the idea that we're not leaving each other's sides"
Regina nodded. They had been married for five years, taking over from Snow and Charming, Emma's parents, as the new rulers of the White Kingdom uniting it with the Shadow Kingdom where she was originally from. Ever since her mother had found out that Emma had proposed to her she had stopped at nothing to try and break them apart, deeming the couple unacceptable in her eyes. She had wanted to marry Regina off to someone else, probably a person who wouldn't appreciate her in the least bit, but the young woman had instead defied her and married for love.
The result of that was where they were now, the brunette pregnant with her and her wife's second child along with their son Henry and happily married to the one woman she had only ever loved. So much for what her mother wanted, she thought. Her father had joined her in the White Kingdom as soon as she had married Emma and now Cora was on her quest to bring them to justice for 'abandoning' her. That meant countless attacks on their castle and every time she saw that her wife was injured Regina nearly had a heart attack. It wasn't good for the baby but somehow, no matter how much she worried when Emma was gone, the blonde always made sure that she came back to her.
The same went for their current situation. When she saw Mulan carrying Emma into the castle over her shoulder passed out she had feared the worst, especially when she had found out she had been hit by a poisoned arrow and she could do nothing about it. Luckily she had her mother-in-law and despite the fact that she was also fresh from the battle Snow had kept her calm and occupied whilst Frankenstein worked on saving the blonde queen.
"I just wish she would stop with all these attacks" She said, her mind returning back to reality. "I don't think I can take the idea of you coming back in a worse condition. What if the next time you don't come back to me?"
Even though she knew she was the one that was injured Emma knew that it hurt Regina just as much, even if it was emotionally. They both needed comfort in that situation, each woman knowing just what the risks were whenever Emma left the castle gates to fight off yet another attack by her crazed mother-in-law. Usually she would have gone with her but in her condition she couldn't, instead left waiting for the news of whether her wife had survived or perished. The thought of this is what made Emma smile sympathetically at her before wrapping her arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, ignoring the pain in favour of comforting her lover.
Regina sniffled, hating her emotions for getting the better of her but she was happy to put some of the blame on her hormones, giving her reason enough to relax into the support Emma was offering her. It hurt deep within her chest but she knew, even with her mother attacking them more and more, that one day they would pull through and defeat her once and for all and for every time Emma came back injured it had made her more desensitized to the idea of her mother dying. When she did eventually go she would be happy, happy that her wife could finally stop fighting, that they could stop fighting. She didn't know if she could take the not knowing very much longer, it was killing her inside. Despite all this inner turmoil she also knew that Emma would be there for her no matter what and that's what gave her the hope that things would get better eventually.
Pulling away Emma smiled at her, brushing away her tears with her thumbs. "Don't cry" She whispered quietly enough to make Regina want do the exact opposite. The comfort carried through that one statement was enough to maker her cry from the care she was receiving.
Feeling a soft kiss pressed to her lips she felt bad. She was the one who was supposed to be caring for Emma, considering she had come back nearly half dead earlier that evening, but she guessed that that was the way it was always going to be. Right up until the day they died. In her way she had looked after her wife when she had woken up but Emma had helped her too, soothing the pain in her heart that kept coming and coming. Sometimes she really did feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
Emma smiled softly as she pulled back and soon she was laying back in the bed, opening her arms to her despite the fact that they were bandaged and painful. Regina happily complied and as soon as she had her head resting on her chest she felt Emma's hand rest on her pregnant belly, rubbing soothingly until she finally fell into sleep again, this time much more peaceful than the last. Emma felt Regina's contentedness and it wasn't long before she was slipping into it as well, a happy smile on her face.
