I know it has been forever since I have updated, and I am truly sorry.
College gets in the way of my writing. But now that school is out for the summer, I will update far more frequently.
Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story.
They arrived at the castle in silence. Neither of the young girls felt comfortable speaking in the presence of the clearly angry King.
"Emma show Regina where she can put her horse. Then show her to a spare room." James said and handed his reigns to a steward as he dismounted.
"When you have done that, change into the dress your mother has set aside for you and come to grand hall so that we may present your stag." He said but did not look at his daughter.
"But dad—" Emma started but was cut off by her father.
"Do as I say. That is the end of it." James said and walked into the castle.
Emma looked defeated as she dismounted Apollo.
Trouble in paradise. Regina thought and dismounted Rocinante.
"Follow me." Emma said and walked towards the stable.
"I'm sorry if I caused any discourse." Regina said with an evil grin.
"It's fine." Emma said and turned to her as they entered the stables. "It's very rare that they listen to me anyway." Emma said and gave Regina a small crooked smile.
Regina's heart fluttered. I cannot be charmed by her. I have a job to do.
"I know that feeling." Regina said and handed Rocinante's reigns to Emma and she put him in a stall.
"It's horrible, isn't it? No matter what I say or do I'm never good enough for them." Emma said.
God, I want to hold her. Regina thought and quickly shook those thoughts away.
"Well" Emma said and brushed her hands off on her pants. "Might as well get this over with, shall we?" She said and led Regina into the castle.
Emma showed Regina to a spare room, which was right beside her own.
Emma put her hands in her pockets, "This way if you need anything I'm right beside you." She said.
"Thank you Princess." Regina said.
"Please call me Emma. You're my friend." Emma said and smiled.
That smile is deadly. Regina thought and looked down to avoid its glow.
"Okay. Emma." Regina said and returned the smile.
Emma blushed under Regina's gaze. She slowly backed away.
"Okay well I have to change, but I'll see you at the ceremony." Emma said and backed into a statue, almost knocking it off the pedestal.
Regina giggled at Emma's antics. Emma blushed again.
"Bye." She said quickly and darted into her room.
Regina laughed again and entered her room.
In the next room Emma was having a stare down with the dress that was hanging on her vanity.
"No freaking way." Emma said and couldn't stop looking at it.
There was a knock on her door.
"Enter." Emma called over her shoulder.
"Eww what is that?" called her handmaiden Belle.
"That is what my mother wants me to wear." Emma said and looked at it with distaste.
"Well you're not wearing that." Belle said.
"What am I supposed to wear Belle? My mother picked that dress special." Emma said.
Belle crept over to Emma's wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful sky blue dress.
"You'll wear this." She said.
"Where did you get that?" Emma asked.
"Well, I knew your mother would pick a horrible dress and you would hate it, so I had the dress maker make a dress you would actually want to wear." Belle said.
"You're the best!" Emma said and hugged the young girl.
"Come on let's get you into this." Belle said and helped the Princess into her gown.
Next door Regina was getting into her own gown.
Apparently Emma had the royal dress maker find an old gown for Regina to wear to the ceremony.
She had to admit, it wasn't a bad dress. Red. And clung to every curve. If she wanted to rope a Princess this was how.
Get a grip Regina. She thought. She couldn't get the blonde princess out of her mind. She never told her mother, but she never forgot about the day they played in the woods together. Emma appeared in her dreams, often in the form of the valiant knight, there to whisk her away into a fantasy. But this is reality and she was there for one reason and one reason only, to regain her families' stature.
Regina walked out into the hall and came face to face with a young woman.
"Hello are you Regina?" the young woman asked.
"Yes I am." Regina said taken aback.
"I'm Belle. I'm the Princess's handmaiden. She asked me to escort you down to the party." Belle said and Regina followed her down the grand staircase.
"No offense, but I am more than capable to escort myself." Regina said.
"I know that, and Emma knows that. But Emma is just chivalrous like that. She wants to make sure you have someone to talk to while she does her duties." Belle said and smiled.
"She said that?" Regina asked.
"Not in so many words. More like, 'can you watch out for my friend Regina, mom and dad suck." Belle said and giggled.
Regina laughed under her breath. The chivalrous Princess. Interesting. She thought.
Regina and Belle talked comfortably for a while until they heard the trumpet fanfare.
They both looked up to the staircase as Emma descended the stairs on her father's arm.
She looks gorgeous. Regina thought as Emma seemed to float down the stairs in her sky blue dress with a grace Regina didn't know she had.
Belle saw the way Regina was looking at Emma. "She looks great doesn't she?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Stunning." Was Regina's reply.
Belle kept Regina company as Emma made her way around the great hall, talking about insipid things with the dignitaries.
Emma finally reached them and the most genuine smile crossed her face. The first one all night.
"Hey" she said at the two women.
"How goes it?" Belle asked.
"You know. Same old dignitaries. Same old crap." Emma said and looked over at Regina.
"You look beautiful." Emma said.
Regina was taken aback by her directness. "Thank you." She replied. "You look amazing yourself."
"Thanks." Emma said.
"Regina I—" she started but was cut off by her mother grabbing her elbow and pulling her away.
"Emma dear, there is a man here I want you to talk to." Snow said and didn't even pay attention to her daughter's protests.
"Mom I was talking to someone." Emma said.
"Yes that outsider. Your father is not happy about that Emma." Snow said, talking to her as if she was a child.
"I don't care if he's happy or not. Regina saved my life and I like her so he's going to have to deal with it." Emma said.
Snow turned to her. "Emma, she's an outsider she can't be trusted."
"I trust her. You two claim to be good, but you have a bad sense of acceptance. You pass judgment on someone trying to improve their life before they have a chance to try. That does not sound like a quality a good person has, I'm sorry mother." Emma said.
"Emma. You will not make a scene in front of our guests. We will discuss this later. Right now you will talk to King Wilhelm and Prince Jacob." Snow said and pulled her forward again.
"Fine." Emma said and walked up to the pair of men.
"Your majesty." The King said to the two women.
"King Wilhelm, Prince Jacob, this is my daughter Princess Emma." She said and Emma extended her hand. The King took it and pressed light kiss to it. Then the Prince repeated the action.
"If you two wouldn't mind excusing us, I have something to talk about with the Queen." King Wilhelm said and left Emma alone with the Prince.
"Alone at last." The prince said and leaned into Emma.
Emma looked up at him disgusted.
Regina could see the whole exchange from across the hall, and for some reason, the prince's close proximity to Emma was making her blood boil.
"So what do you say? Let's leave this stupid party and do something more exciting with less clothing." The prince said to Emma.
"This party is for me. It's to celebrate my coronation hunt. I shot the biggest stag in my family history today." Emma said and tried to back away from him, but found that his arm was firmly locked behind her back.
"Are you sure daddy didn't help you?" Prince Jacob said.
"I shot that stag all by myself and almost died doing it." Emma said in obvious distain.
"Well it doesn't matter anyways, when we are married, you won't be doing that anymore." He said.
"What? Marry you? I would never agree to that." Emma said in shock.
"What do you think our parents are talking about right now? I asked my father for you, and I always get what I want." The prince said and glared at Emma with lust-filled eyes.
"I am not something to be possessed!" Emma said enraged and shoved him off of her. The room quieted down when Emma yelled.
"You will be mine, and I will use you as all proper women are to be used: to satisfy me and bear sons. You will do both, when and where I ask. Stupid little princess, you will learn your place." He said.
Emma saw red. No one talks to her like that. The next thing she remembered was being held tight in her father's arms, her hands covered in blood.
She had punched the prince. She had broken his nose.
Her beautiful blue dress was stained with his blood.
"Snow! James! This is an outrage!" The king yelled as he stood over his weeping son.
"I am terribly sorry. I don't know what came over her." Snow said and turned to her daughter cradled in her husband's arms.
"Emma apologize to the prince. You are being incredibly rude." Snow said.
"No!" Emma struggled out of her father's grasp. "He was incredibly rude! He's lucky I didn't do worse!" Emma said.
"Emma! You will apologize to our guest this instant!" Snow yelled.
"No." Emma said calmly and walked up the grand staircase to her room.
"I'm so sorry." Snow said to the king and prince as well as the other party guests.
Regina watched the entire exchanged and was furious at everyone involved. Whatever the prince had said must have been extremely inappropriate for Emma to retaliate like that. She was furious at the king and queen for not taking their daughter's side, or even hearing her out. Her mind went back to the stables earlier that day. It's very rare that they listen to me anyways. Emma's voice rang through her head like a bell.
"You should go to her." Belle said.
"What? Why?" Regina asked, even though that is exactly what she wanted to do.
"She told me earlier that she trusts you, and that you get her. You would probably be her first choice right now." Belle said.
"Okay." Regina said hesitantly, and proceeded up the staircase. No one noticed her absence; they were all too busy talking about the scandal with the "hot-headed princess."
Regina walked up to Emma's door and knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked louder and still no answer. So she finally just decided to walk in.
She saw Emma sitting at a window seat staring out the window. Regina thought she looked beautiful in the moon's light. She stood there for a couple minutes, hearing a sniffle from the young blonde every once in a while.
Regina approached Emma on the window seat and sat in front of her.
"Emma?" she said and placed her hand on Emma's knee.
Emma suddenly seemed to break away from the trance she was in. "Hey Gina." Emma said and gave Regina a sad smile.
"I'm sorry about what happened. I know you're not alright." Regina said.
"I'm just a pawn." Emma said so low that Regina had to strain to hear her.
"What?" Regina asked.
Emma looked back out the window. "I'm just a pawn in their game. My happiness is of no consequence. That prince was a jerk and they were more than willing to trade me off to him for some tracks of land. I am just something to be given and taken. I don't want to be that." Emma said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Before Regina could catch herself she reached over and brushed it away with her thumb.
"You're more than that Emma." Regina said as Emma looked over into her chocolate eyes and gave her a small smile.
"Don't let them make you feel that way. You don't need anyone. You will be an amazing Queen." Regina said still cupping Emma's cheek.
"Thank you Regina." Emma said and leaned into Regina's touch and kissed her palm.
Emma moved out of Regina's grasp to pull the woman towards her in a soft hug.
"You are one of the nicest people I have ever met." Emma said and laid her head on Regina's shoulder. "I never forgot about you. I went back to that day in the forest a lot. You were the only person to ever like me for me." Emma said.
"I never forgot you either Emma. That day was a saving grace for me as well." Regina said and entwined her fingers with Emma's.
Both women pulled back from each other and placed their foreheads together. They stayed that way for a while in comfortable silence running their hands over each other's until Regina spoke.
"Come here." She said and laid back on the window seat.
"What?" Emma said, a blush creeping to her face.
"You need to sleep. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep and then I'll go to my room." Regina said.
Emma gathered her courage and lay down partially on Regina, inside her arms.
"This is nice." Emma said and cuddled closer to Regina's body.
"Yes it is dear, now go to sleep." Regina said.
A couple of minutes passed and Regina felt herself being pulled into sleep. Then she heard Emma's voice.
"Goodnight my beautiful queen."
"Goodnight my valiant knight." She replied.
I hope you all enjoyed it. I will get the next chapter up, no later than the end of this week.
Reviews are encouraged and appreciated.
Stay excellent.