Regina was so exhausted from crying that she had fallen asleep in Emma's arms. The knew all too well how crying could make someone so tired. Rocinante had put himself back into the stall and Emma locked it in place while still holding on Regina. With both of her hands, she was able to walk back to the castle.

Her cheek had stopped bleeding and she could see the small stain on Regina's clothing. It was barely noticeable to anyone else looking at it. Emma was feeling such mixed emotions when it came to the woman she was carrying. They had brought each other so much pain.

She ascended the stairs, opened Regina's bedroom door, and placed her gently under the covers. Regina was stirring in her sleep and before Emma could leave, she held onto her hand.

"Don't go, Emma, not yet."

"Regina…"

"Please stay for a little longer."

Emma wanted to leave, but Regina's words had kept her in place. She turned around as Regina changed into her nightgown and went back under the covers. Emma had taken her place on the edge of the bed and didn't make any movement towards lying next to Regina. She didn't feel like she had earned that right yet.

"It's okay, Emma."

Regina pulled back the covers and Emma was lying down next to her. She was trying to ignore the stinging on her cheek, but it wasn't so easy to forget. Regina had touched the cut on Emma's cheek and a glow was coming from it. Emma held onto Regina's hand.

"No magic, Regina."

"It'll leave a scar."

"It's just a scar, Regina. I have plenty of those so one more won't hurt."

Regina frowned at those words. She wanted to heal every scar on Emma's body because maybe if she did, she could erase all the memories that went along with them. She looked at the damage she had caused the blonde.

She was laying her head down on Emma's chest and listening to her heart beat. It was the most relaxing sound. She felt Emma run her fingers through her hair and heard her humming a tune. Emma wanted to soothe Regina after what had happened. The both of them just wanted to heal from today's ordeal.

It took no time at all for Regina to fall asleep again. As much as Emma didn't want to leave Regina, she knew that she had to get back to her room. Nightfall was approaching soon and she didn't want to be caught in bed with the princess. She reluctantly got out of bed and made sure that Regina was comfortable before closing the door.

On her way to her room, she saw a door that was cracked open slightly. In the room was The Queen talking to her Magic Mirror. "Everything is going according to plan. I will do everything to show that Regina should only love me and not some peasant. I did away with her father when I learned that she loved him more than me. I can easily do the same to that servant of hers."

Emma notices that there is a magic book opened in The Queen's hands as she is speaking to her Magic Mirror.

"How will you get rid of the servant, Your Majesty? It's best not to commit a murder a second time, you were lucky to get away with it the first time."

"You're right, that would be too tiresome to do."

The Queen drums her fingers on the magic book and then stops.

"I will put a curse on this land and make it so that Regina shall only love me. She will completely be under my control and will forget all about that little servant of hers. The only thing that Regina will desire is to always make me happy. This text in my hands is exactly what I need to enact it."

"That's a very clever idea, Your Majesty. Will you perform it tonight?"

"I will enact the curse tomorrow night, Mirror. It will give me plenty of time to tear those two apart."

The blonde caught a good look at the magic book that was being held in The Queen's hands. It was a crimson colored leather bound book with gold trimming. The pages were black as coal with white letters on top of it.

The Queen was about to turn around to face the door when Emma ran as fast as she could to Regina's room again. She was in front of Regina's bed when she began to shake her. Regina was mumbling at first, but then was fully awake.

"What is it, Emma?"

"Your Mother is planning something awful."

"What are you talking about?"

"She said that she killed your father and that she wants to put a curse on you. She was going to use this red magic book too."

"That's preposterous, Emma! My Mother didn't kill my Father, he died of a heart attack. I have heard that she has a red magic book that is filled with spells, but it's for more "experienced" magic users. You should go to bed, Emma, you're not thinking straight."

"Yes I am, Regina, and I'll prove it to you."

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to steal that magic book and bring back proof that I'm right."

"Don't be so foolish, Emma, go to bed."

Emma walked out the door, went to her room, and waited until The Queen left the room.

It was several hours until The Queen had left the room and Emma saw that she had left it unlocked. Everyone feared The Queen, so she saw no harm in keeping rooms unlocked. A servant knew that going into her room meant death. Even so, Emma was going to prove to Regina that her Mother was truly evil.

Emma successfully sneaks into the Queen's bedroom while she's away at court and looks around to see if the Magic Mirror is awake. She sees that The Queen had placed a black silky sheet on it.

The blonde woman was able to open the book for a brief moment before it started to burn her hands. She tried to read as much of the words as she could and she was lucky that it revealed itself to her. Normally, magic books wouldn't reveal its words unless someone with magic was reading it. She noticed that the longer she held it, the more damage it burned her hands. She was really beginning to hate having anything to do with fire. She was flipping through the pages as quickly as she can before closing it. It might leave a mark, but at least she found the curse that The Queen was going to use.

Once Emma is safely in her room, she tried to stop the burning by putting it under cold water. The water was doing a wonderful job of soothing her. She climbed into bed to get some rest and was ready to reveal to Regina what the truth was.

The Queen returned to her bedroom and sees that her magic book has been tampered with. She furiously takes off the black silky sheet and demanded if the Magic Mirror had heard any noises. The Magic Mirror looks frightened, but he shakes his head.

The Queen wants the culprit caught and tells the Magic Mirror to wake everyone up.

"Your Majesty, don't you think that this is a bit rash? I doubt that any harm was done."

"A bit rash? Someone has put their filthy hands on my magic book! I will find whoever had done such a thing."

She holds the book close to her, "I put a spell on it so that whoever touches it other than me will have burn marks on their hand. No matter how much the individual tries to make it disappear or try to cool their hands, it won't stop the magic from leaving its permanent mark."

The Magic Mirror went into each mirror that was placed in everyone's rooms and told them to wake up. The Queen watches as all the servants and Princess Regina form a line in front of her.

The Queen looks at everyone of them and holds out her magic book.

"Somebody has touched something that isn't theirs. Instead of using my normal techniques to get information out of you all, I will just ask you to hold out your hands. There would be a special brand on their hands and their hands will be burning. I am very proud of the spell, after all, I did make it myself."

Emma becomes nervous when The Queen walks down the line and looks at the servants' hands. Regina looks at Emma and can see the panic on her face. She turns away from the blonde and focuses on her mother.

When The Queen reaches Emma, Emma hesitates a moment before revealing her hands. The burns that had been on her hands before had disappeared. She knew that Regina had helped her get rid of the brand that the spell had caused.

The Queen doesn't bother to look at Regina's hands and is standing in front of everyone once again.

"I will find out who touched my book if it's the last thing I do! One of you are guilty and I will find out who."

She pointed a threatening finger and everyone was frozen in fear, even Regina.

Everyone had made their way back to their bedrooms. Emma and Regina walked together since their rooms were very close together. Emma looked at Regina and mouthed the words "Thank you". Regina replied with, "You're welcome".

Emma was lying on her bed and let out a sigh of relief. That was too damn close for her. If she had been caught, she wouldn't be put to death on the spot. Oh no, The Queen would probably torture her and then kill her. She shuddered at the thought as she put the covers over her head.

The more that she thought about what might've happened if she was caught, the more she questioned whether it was still a good idea to stay here. Yes, she had no choice, but she also couldn't risk doing something like that again for Regina. She could put Regina in danger once again. She reminded herself that she wasn't there to be Regina's friend, she was supposed to steal that damn necklace for Robin.

Emma forced herself out of the warm bed and snuck back into Regina's room. The brunette was sleeping soundly and the blonde saw the moon reflect off of the necklace. Regina normally wore it to sleep, but tonight, she had it lying on her night table. It was so beautiful up close.

Without thinking, Emma took it, and took one longing look at Regina. She didn't belong here in this world with a princess. She belonged to the village that was far from the castle. She had to get away from The Queen and her daughter. She had to cut ties, for Regina's safety, or so she told herself.