A/N:

I'm so sorry for the incredibly long wait, I got slightly distracted during new years and I'm finally back. Thanks to darkswanouat for beta reading again. I'm hoping ya'll are still reading this and don't forget to give me your opinions. =]

P.S. If you want a playlist to listen to, I suggest the "Mainstream Rock Ballads (2015)". Check out my SwanQueen trailer too! Just search Make a wish swan queen trailer and it should be up under the name "DRUGEDBYALEX". Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter.

The fresh breeze of the strong, cold air from her stallion's long strides striking at her skin. The overwhelming power she felt as the horse galloped across the castle's front yard striking her soul with so much delight. She loved the blissful hurdle she felt as she slowed the horse down. The way her horse slowed down, letting her feel the small bounces as though she was on a trampoline just beginning to jump.

"That's a good girl." The knight scraped the horse's neck gently as it neighed, pressing itself closer to Emma's hand. She smiled; she adored it whenever her horse leaned into her touch. It was probably the only thing that made her feel the gentleness of a woman. She hopped off the stallion, singing her right leg to the other side then bouncing off, her feet touching the ground gracefully; it was noticeable that she was undeniably a skilled rider. She pulled the leather stirrup attached to the saddle, making sure she didn't pull so hard that it could hurt Aphrodite. She led the horse back to the stables. She had had enough riding for the morning.

The sun was about to appear in the sky. She watched the ravishing dark sky slowly shift into a thrilling bright morning. The knight was supposed to expect Henry soon. She pulled her horse to its rightful place in the stables and started to prepare for today's lesson. She prepped two wooden swords and waited patiently for the boy. She smiled, holding onto the sword, prepping into the perfect position and slashing at the wind. The simple action reminded her of her training days.

She was merely 19 years of age when she first held a sword, her grip fierce on the metal object. Her father smiled at her as she positioned herself in the perfect position. She smiled back at him that sneaky, charming smile. She'd been practicing her sword fighting for the past 2 months and was already one of the most skilled sword fighters in the land.

"On guard!" her father roared as he waved his sword towards his daughter, who easily blocked the sharp item, releasing a shrieking sound as the swords collided. She slipped her sword away, turning around in a circle before she swayed her sword towards her father, her strength undeniably greater than his.

"Where's your strength, father?" she challenged him with a smirk. Her father replied with a chuckling grin as he pushed his daughter back. Emma stumbled slightly from the great force her father charged at her. She balanced herself quickly as her father aimed at her once more. She swiftly moved her leg between his, causing him to trip and fall. She smirked and placed her sword near his neck. Her father laughed proudly, settling in defeat. He had taught her the trick, and to this day, she kept using it.

She smiled at the memory she cherished near her heart. Her father had been such a role model for her growing up. He was her mentor, her friend, and mostly, her father. He never let her down in the slightest. She frowned slightly as she started to remember his befallen fate. He was slowly getting sicker. Her family didn't have the means to pay for the cure, which is why she accepted this tutoring job. Hook had promised her a fine amount of gold that would cover for the cure and more.

"Come on, Swan." The sailor nagged as she went back and forth clearing the den. Her father would usually do it but he was tiring more and more each day that passed, and her mother never left his side. Even if she wanted to accept this offer, she couldn't leave her parents alone in a state like this.

"No, Hook," She said eyeing him, clearly displeased with his childish behavior. "I have too much on my plate, the last thing I need is to train a child," She spoke as she lifted heavy stacks of hay, placing them aside.

"He is not just a child, Emma. He's the next king." He tried harder to get her to accept his offer. "Besides, I'm sure your parents would be fine without you for a few weeks."

"My family needs me." She told him as she finally turned around to look at him.

"What if I offer you gold?" The ex-pirate smirked as he saw the blonde twitch.

"How much?" she asked, considering his offer.

"Enough."

She thought for a moment, the sailor impatiently waiting for her answer. She looked over at her small home to see her father sitting on the porch as her mother brought him something hot to drink. She sighed, knowing this could benefit them. She looked once more to the pirate.

"Okay, I'll do it." She said, earning a smirk from the pirate.

Henry appeared a few seconds later and, as usual; his breath was out of control. The boy placed his hands on his knees, bending forward to gasp as much air in as he could. His body was slowly adjusting to his stressful training. Waking up early for the past two days and his non-stop training had been draining him restless, but it had also been strengthening him.

Once his breathing began to gradually steady itself, his eyes were met with a wooden sword that was thrown at his feet. His eyes widened. The boy looked up, intrigued by what he had in mind of what they were going to do for today's lesson.

"Pick it up." The knight spoke, pointing towards the sword, as she held her own. The boy picked it up without question and finally straightened himself. "When using a sword, the way you stand, move and hold your weapon is vital. It determines how much control you have over the weapon." The knight spoke as she took slow strides left and right.

The knight lifted her sword and swung in the boy's direction, surprising him with the sudden contact. Henry, acting on instinct, pulled his sword up. His eyes were deeply vast as he stared at the smirking knight, who gently took her sword away. The boy reluctantly set his sword down as he watched the knight about to speak again, his heart racing faster than it was when he was out of breath.

"As you can see," The knight started, before slamming the sword in Henry's direction again. The boy shielded himself once more whilst being pushed back slightly by the strength with which the knight pressed down on the boy's sword, his eyes barely in their sockets as they flicked between the sword aimed at him and the knight's green eyes that stared so deeply into his, fearing the boy more. "You have to move quickly," She said, as she slipped her leg between the prince's legs, pushing harder against the boy's chest. The prince looked like a boy trapped in a room that shrunk until it crushed him.

Henry, about to take a step back, tumbled from the knight's feet. He fell on his back, his sword a few inches away from him. Emma placed her sword close to his chin. The boy swallowed his sputum as the knight smirked, his fear evident on his face despite the fact that the wooden sword couldn't exactly slice through him.

"And cleverly, or your head will be sliced off before you can even blink." She said, and soon moved her wooden weapon away, reaching her hand out for him to take. He took her extended arm, pulling himself up and attaining his sword, ready for another attack from the knight, or so he thought. She pulled the boy ever so close to her, her sword right in between them. "And never, ever trust your enemy." She whispered. The boy nodded hastily until the sword was out of his face and the knight had taken a step back.

"First we'll start with your posture." Emma moved until she was beside the boy. She tapped at his thigh. "Feet shoulder length apart." She spread her feet as the boy did. "Knees bent." She bent her knees, he followed. "This will refrain you from losing balance." She stood upright once again as Henry did as well.

"Second, gripping the sword." She held her own sword. "When holding a sword, you should avoid gripping it tightly with all your fingers as that will tire you out and result in unwanted movements. Your strong grip should be using your thumb and first two fingers; the rest should hold on loosely, like this." The boy imitated the knight's grip.

"Now, fix your posture and strike." She said, as she moved to hit the boy's sword once more. The boy's grip tighter this time, the knight's lips curled into a bigger grin. "Good work Henry." The boy smiled and began to push back the knight, whose sword backed away from him.

This shouldn't take too long; the boy's a natural. Father would've loved him.

"Is that all?" The Queen questioned if there was more to discuss on the matters of her realm; all the royals around the table nodded their heads. She nodded. "Good, you are free to leave now." She spoke as the men stood up and one by one began to leave. She collected herself as well, walking to the window.

She sighed. She did not enjoy this much, but it was her duty and she had to do it whether she liked it or not. Sometimes she wished she could just take a break, but she knew better than that. Her only escape was books and painting, and sadly she was starting to lose interest in painting due to how little time she had for herself.

She glanced out the window to see it was almost sunset. She frowned, noticing that Henry wasn't back from his training session yet: he usually was by this time. After his appearance in the dark of night yesterday in her room, her worries were increased more than normal. She walked to the castle's gates without a second thought. The man by the gate opened the door for the queen.

"Have you seen Henry?" She asked the guard. He shook his head.

"He hasn't returned from his training this morning." She nodded at the guard's words and decided to check the stables, her worry gradually increasing. It was where they usually practiced.

She exited the castle and took light steps to the stables. She heard the faint sounds of clashing swords and her heart began to race as she sped up her walk until she reached the door of the stables. Her eyes widened as she saw the knight towering over her little prince, the sight not to her liking.

"On guard!" The knight yelled at the boy, who obeyed her command. During the course of four hours, they had switched from wooden swords to real ones.

"Attack!" She yelled, attacking the boy, who blocked her attack and soon took a swing at her sword. The action continued for a decent amount of time before Henry fell to the floor.

"Henry!" Regina cried, as she ran to her son. Both heads turned in the direction of the queen. She helped her son up and looked furiously at the knight. "Must you be so harsh?" she questioned with annoyance. Henry placed a hand on his mother's hand, which was tightly gripping his.

"Mother, I'm fine." He spoke soothingly.

"No you are not. She threw you to the floor." She said with a hint of anger in her voice. She glared at the knight who sighed, reaching for the queen who, like the other night, had rejected Emma again.

"Your majesty, I can assure you the boy is fine, this is merely practice." She tried to reason with the queen, even if she knew it was pointless, for her own mother had tried to stop her from becoming a knight thousands of time in the fear that she would get hurt. Regina stood in front of her son as she poked a finger to the knight's chest.

"You don't get to say anything," She spoke with anger as she took a few more steps towards the knight. Her hand automatically whacked the knight's cheek.

"Mom!" Henry yelled in shock. He'd never seen his mother attempt any violence before. The queen was shocked with her own actions but she wouldn't show it.

Emma and Regina stood still, a few inches apart. "He is not just a boy, he's the prince, he is the king to be." She spoke as the knight held back a smirk. The queen was surely confident, and even though her cheek began to burn slightly she stayed in place, impressed with the queen's boldness. For those few seconds of silence before the queen spoke once more, it felt like it was only her and Regina. Everything else in the world blocked and sound disappeared. "And he is my son." The queen finished. The knight knew better than to say anything about that; she just stared into the queen's blinding brown eyes filled deep with acrimony. The queen's face was inches away from the knight's, Regina thinking she was alarming the knight. Little did she know, but the knight wasn't alarmed at all, yet captivated by the queen's closeness. Emma took this opportunity to study the queen's fascinating features, noticing the scar just above her top lip.

The queen, heeding the knight's unmoving eyes and posture, backed away, grabbing the boy's hand.

"Let's go, Henry," She said, pulling him with her, giving him no chance to deny her. Once they were at a far enough position from the stables, she let her hard grip on the prince loosen slightly.

"You didn't have to do that, mother." The boy spoke with slight displeasure.

"She could have hurt you." His mother let go of his hand, crossing her arms on her chest. She knew she had overstepped her boundaries, but she simply couldn't help it. She heard her son's heavy sigh as he reached for her arm, stopping her from moving further. The queen looked away, ashamed. Henry let a soft smile slip his lips before he went in to hug his mother.

"I'll be fine, mom. Don't worry so much about me." He told his mother softly as she eased into his embrace. She sighed into his chest just like he did the night before. "I won't leave you like my father did." The prince could feel his mother's soft smile from against his chest. "I'm not him." He whispered, and Regina slipped away from his embrace with a tear threatening to fall from her eye.

"No, you are not." She whispered to him as her son twitched his lip and smirked. The queen chuckled at her adorable son, who reached for her cheeks and wiped away her tear. Henry intertwined his fingers with his mother's, allowing them to walk in sync as he decided to ease his mother's mind by reminiscing about their lovely past.

Emma sighed as she picked her things up and placed them aside. They would be using them again tomorrow. She wished she could find a way to reach out to the queen, though her chances seemed very little now. She sighed once more as she walked out of the stables.

She escorted herself to the apple tree she had found two days ago. She still hadn't found a place to sleep so she normally lay by the apple tree or in the stables. She didn't mind the nature; she had lived most of her life outside, so it never phased her. It would only be for a couple of weeks anyway. Henry was a fast learner.

She sat down by the tree, her back pressed against the slightly rough wood. She lay her head back, looking at the sky. She loved staring at the stars, they were such an extraordinary view. The sparkles they offered reminded her of the queen's eyes. They offered the same sort of glimmer as the stars did.

Her mind started to contemplate the queen's incredibly close proximity just a few minutes ago. She wondered how much the queen could possibly love the boy; it was obvious enough that it was a lot. The queen loved quite deeply, assuming from the things she'd heard and from the story Henry had told her. The queen loved so much that it hurt her. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the queen implanting in her brain.

Emma flickered her eyes open after feeling feet stumble over hers. She rubbed her eyes slightly then looked up, only for her eyes to meet with the queen's deep brown orbs. Regina held a basket in her hands, her face clearly showing shock. Undoubtedly not expecting her feet to collide with anything.

"Your grace." Emma said, quickly getting to her feet. She bowed down for the queen and stood up in front of her again. Regina, still in visible shock, scanned the area the knight had occupied a few seconds ago. She noticed a few items on the ground such as a soft sheet and some camping gear. She looked back at the knight to see her still drowsy expression, finally comprehending the situation the knight was in.

"Ser Swan?" Do you not have a place to settle?" she questioned. The knight shrugged, looking around her then at the queen once more,

"I make do." She said with a soft smile. The queen, though still in a little irritated from the way she had treated her son earlier, felt the slightest bit of guilt surface in her emotions. The knight smiled at the queen softly as she bent to pick her things up, sensing the displeasure from the queen. "Don't mind me, your highness, I'll settle at another place."

Regina, refusing to give into her guilt, looked away from the knight and decided to continue the task at hand. She glanced ever so softly back at the knight to see her collecting her things. She looked away once more and continued her task picking the ripest of apples from the tree. She loved this task, reminding her of the times when things didn't hurt so much and loneliness was not a burdened problem. She sighed, trying to wash away the feelings, as she reached for an apple that was a little too high for her to reach. She stood on her toes, stretching an arm towards the apple that seemed quite far from reach.

A few sounds of shuffling was heard. The queen had assumed that the knight had taken her leave, but was surprised with the feeling of a body's heat radiating behind her instead. It pulled the apple she had difficulty trying to reach. Regina stood in place, feeling the knight's breath linger on the back of her neck, and the soft brushes gracing the tip of her slightly exposed skin as the knight slowly stood on her feet once more and took a few steps away from the queen.

The queen stood still, motionless, attempting to understand why the knight was treating her with such a willing ease after their minor conflict from earlier. With all her might she turned around, meeting the knight's eyes. She held the apple out for the queen. The queen sceptically took the apple from the blonde knight, earning an even bigger smile from her. She nodded for the queen, accepting the invisible thank you that didn't spur the queen's lips. She was about to head in the direction of the stables when the queen's spoken words stopped her in the middle of her tracks.

"Wait." She said in such a soft whisper that the knight could have easily missed it. Emma turned around to face her curiously. She took a few steps forward as the queen stared down at her basket of apples. "You can stay in the castle, the weather isn't suitable for camping." The queen said in a rush, causing an enormous grin to form on the knight's face. The knight took a few more steps closer to the queen, lifting her chin gently to look into those mesmerising eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered, leaving the queen in a crucial state, the vulnerability edging at her features.

This is my chance at letting her let me in.

The knight thought as the queen shifted nervously.

"I'll have a guard assist you to the guest rooms once I make the trip back to the castle. I would assume you should have your belongings packed by the time one of the guards approach you." The queen said in a disciplined manner, avoiding any eye contact, before quickly turning around to head to the castle. The knight smirked, proud of herself for making the queen fluster so easily. She kept her eyes on the queen until she slowly began to depart to the castle. The thought of having a bed for the knight sent a warm feeling into the knight's stomach. She left to pick up her things, happy at how things had taken a turn.

Henry gently tip toed out of his room. Looking left and right, he noticed his mother's door closed, which meant she was probably asleep. He walked out carefully, making his way as quietly as possible to the stables. He took the sword the knight had left aside.

He felt like he needed to make amends for the time he lost when his mother interrupted them earlier. He spread his feet shoulder length apart and bent his knees, remembering the knight's commands. He started to swing the sword, mimicking the knight. He gradually started to build up his speed until his arms tired. He smiled to himself as he looked at the sword in his hand.

This isn't as hard as I thought it would be.

He thought, but then he heard the sound of slight cracks of hay from behind the horses. He kept a keen eye near the stallions, noticing the shallow movements and a soft silhouette. He raised his sword in defence.

"Who's there?" he commanded, but was met with no response. He got closer, but nothing moved. Maybe his eyes were just deceiving him. He shook his head, lowering his weapon and turning around, moving away from the horse, when he felt something hard hit him across the head. He groaned and rubbed his head, his eyes squinting from the pain, as he noticed small shoes running across from him.

He picked up his sword and rushed after the small shoed person. He ran faster as he tried to follow them. He paused once he noticed the figure move to the lake and easily hop across. She turned around, and to his dismay it was the girl from the other night when he was training his balance and patience. The girl that distracted him. His eyes widened. She lowered her hood and gave Henry a smile from the other side of the lake.

"You…" he whispered to himself.

Who is this girl?

He questioned as he watched her hop on her stallion and rush away. He ran after it from the other side as though he could reach her.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" he screamed aloud. The girl looked back as her horse ran forward. She grinned t him for a second, leaving the boy in a very dumbfounded state, his eyes stuck on the fading view of this mysterious girl, her brown eyes pierced into his vision.

Who are you?