A/N: So it's been a bit of a rough week, and I thought an early update was called for. A thousand thank-yous to those of you who have left reviews! They're so very helpful and encouraging, and I'm utterly addicted. This chapter is the counterpart to last chapter, and is basically a view of the evolving relationship between our two leading ladies before all the secrets come out. I know a lot of you expressed some boredom with that, but it's important to the story that they don't immediately jump into bed together. I promise, there'll be plenty of time for that later. :P
Also, I've been getting a lot of questions as to when/if we'll see Snow and Charming. The answer is chapter 23-ish, as it stands so far. (But that's subject to change.) There's a lot of plot to get through before that happens, so patience!
The Handmaiden's Philosophy: Chapter Six
Regina's POV
If it wouldn't have been a completely unseemly thing for a Queen to do, Regina might have thrown herself through one of the nearby stained glass windows that lined the throne room just to put herself out of her misery. As it was, she was still seriously considering the option. She had held court on four days per week, every week, for more than twenty years, and yet it had never become less tedious. While she understood the necessity of addressing the issues within her kingdom's borders, Regina greatly disliked playing mediator in the often petty squabbles amongst the rabble.
But such was the life of a Queen, she supposed.
"State your grievance," she instructed as she waved the next citizen forwards. He was an older man with graying temples, dressed in sturdy, practical clothes that made Regina suspect that his occupation somehow involved livestock or agriculture.
"Thank you, Yer Majesty," the man said gruffly, kneeling before the stone steps to the dais that supported her silver-backed throne. "I've come here ta speak for the farmers south of the North Woods, ta seek your aid. The woods… they're overrun, by forest elves. They shot Jonah's boy when he went ta get kindling, Yer Majesty."
Regina frowned, shallow creases appearing between her eyebrows. Over the past two months, she'd been receiving increasing reports of forest elves fleeing into the Summerlands from the north and crowding the forests. Coming from the north: from the Silverwoods. Nonhuman refugees entering her country from the Silverwoods was not an uncommon occurrence for Regina at all. Even during her poisoned-apple-revenge-phase as the Evil Queen, when she'd cared significantly less for the tedium of ruling a kingdom, she had outlawed the hunting of wolves in her domain; but she had since expanded her protection to include several other species of sentient beings that were often reviled and systematically expunged in the other kingdoms. However, forest elves were not usually counted amongst those who sought her protection. They were a reclusive species, and very good at hiding from pitchfork-wielding peasants when they wanted to. Very few things were a threat to them, and they were very rarely driven from their homes.
It was unsettling then, to hear of them fleeing their ancestral homes in such numbers and crowding her forests with their presence. They were displaying unusually territorial and aggressive tendencies as well. Regina honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to know what new horror had them so spooked. In fact, she was rather inclined just to ignore it. Whatever the problem was in the Silverwoods, it was Snow and Charming's problem anyways.
The forest elves that had seemingly adopted her North Woods, however, were her problem.
"Scribe!" she snapped out. "Compose a missive to Lord Caelum to summon him here at once. Inform him that he is needed in his capacity of half-elf, as I have need for a new ambassador," she instructed, before finally addressing the farmer. "Rest assured that I will do my utmost to resolve the issue, Farmer," she informed him, and then proceeded to pin him with a stern glare. "You are to make no moves of aggression upon the elves until an agreement has been reached. You are dismissed."
The man stood and bowed before leaving. "Yes, Yer Majesty. Thank you, Yer Majesty."
The next few issues were banal. A few border disputes, and a settlement between a pair of farmers over the ownership of a colt. Regina forced herself to remain impassive and prevent her boredom and exasperation from reaching her face, while she diverted part of her attention inwards to ponder the Silverwoods. Sudden dearth of forest elves aside, the Silverwoods was undergoing a time of political change. Just last week, Regina had received word that crowned Prince Leopold II was promised to Princess Alexandra of the Greensea kingdom. Alexandra was the eldest daughter of King Thomas and Queen Cinderella, and just a few months older than Leopold himself. It was a hasty match, and not one borne out of love, Regina was sure. Still, with Princess Emmaline vanished (and the Silverwoods' alliance to the Southern Isles vanished with her) Regina imagined that Snow and Charming were rather desperate for political allies. As the daughters of a lowborn girl, Alexandra and her sisters were not the most desirable of brides, therefore making Thomas more than eager to marry them off to pure royal lines. But he could do far worse than Leopold for his daughter, Regina could admit.
Leopold II was a rather well known figure amongst those who ran in the higher circles. The young Prince of the Silverlands was charismatic and handsome, and rather smarter than his insipid parents. Regina had even met him at a ball in Queen Abigail's kingdom once, and while he had interacted with her only because it would have been rude to do otherwise, he had done so with solemnity and politeness (though, of course, he had excused himself as soon as was socially acceptable). She couldn't say that she liked him, for the boy's very name was a constant reminder of cold and terrifying nights spent beneath a lecherous old man, but she didn't hate him either. Leopold II was obnoxiously perfect in a classic Snow White fashion, but he had never personally wronged her. Regina would term her feelings about him to belong somewhere in the area of strong distaste. He would, at the very least, prove to be a better leader than his parents, she believed.
Occasionally, Regina would wonder about his older sister, Emmaline, and her capacity to rule. (Had she married when she should have, she would have been the next in line to be Queen of the Southern Isles, after all.) When Regina had received word of the Princess' birth, she had imagined that the girl would be raised in the very image of her mother. A useless, traditional Princess, adored by her subjects for no other reason than that she made frequent appearances at public events and smiled dazzlingly at the assembled crowds. However, after the age of three, the Princess suddenly ceased all public appearances. Leopold, of course, continued to interact with the outside world on a regular basis, but so far as Regina was aware (and she had a very efficient information network) Emmaline never set foot outside of the Silverwoods castle town again, outside of two occasions where she had briefly attended royal weddings in other kingdoms. She had been secluded in Snow White's mirror-free palace her entire life –out of sight and out of mind—up until the moment she had disappeared.
This said, Regina found herself highly curious as to what the outcome of the coming alliance between the Silverwoods and Greensea would mean politically, especially once Leopold II took the throne. It wasn't as if she hadn't time to observe the plot unwind, she noted with a bit of wry humor. She had nothing but time, as she would never die of old age, unlike her non-magical counterparts in the Silverwoods. (And didn't that taste wonderful?) Regina wasn't all that fond of the rulers of many of her neighboring kingdoms, but that didn't stop her from sitting back and enjoying the drama that ensued between them when she had the opportunity to do so.
A messenger entered the throne room then, and stood off to the side, awaiting the moment he was directed to deliver his missive. Regina recognized the crest sewn onto his cloak as belonging to House Raillon, one of the many noble families that fell under the banner of her rule in the Summerlands. Once her attention was free, she beckoned him forward and accepted the scroll he carried, reading through it quickly. The son of the recently deceased Lord Edmund of House Raillon, Lord Vayre, was getting married to Lady Mary of House Kesh in two weeks.
Regina snorted elegantly, looking over the missive once more. Two weeks. A fortnight. Doubtlessly, Lady Mary was already well with child if the wedding was announced so suddenly. Though knowing Lord Vayre, she wasn't exactly surprised. She enjoyed the man. He was an excellent politician despite his relative youth, and quite an amusing dinner guest. Regina would never deny that the man was a complete scoundrel though, and often thought with his manhood instead of his brain. Clearly, such habits had caught up to him now.
Still, Regina thought she would rather enjoy attending the event, which was to be held in House Raillon's ancestral keep. Vayre was well liked, and Regina imagined that his wedding would be a well-attended and generally enjoyable occasion. Yes, she would go, she decided. If nothing else, it would break up the monotony of her days.
But she would not go alone. This would be the first time she had taken a trip longer than a few hours away from her castle since she'd brought the tavern girl, Emma, back with her to act as her handmaiden. Much to her consternation, Regina had become very attached to the blonde. And everyone had noticed. The Queen's mood had improved drastically since she began and ended her days with someone she could actually stand, and Regina was well aware that the other servants of the castle made an extra effort to be kind to Emma out of gratitude for achieving something that no one else had before. But she also knew that while Emma was friendly towards the servants living alongside her, she oddly enough wasn't friends with them. (Which had baffled her genie to no end, and he kept insisting it was a sign of her self-absorption and big-headedness. Regina had just shook her head at him and dismissed him from her presence after the conversation had devolved into a jealous rant.) Still, that didn't mean she wasn't intrigued by the information provided.
Because Emma… Emma was different. She was unlike any person Regina had ever encountered in her life, be that peasant or noble. Weeks after her arrival, she was still the Queen's favorite puzzle. Regina supposed that she could always demand the blonde reveal her secrets, but that, she decided, would take the fun out of the game. She'd an entire mental list of things that were strange about her newest (and by far the most competent) handmaiden. For instance, the fact that Emma knew how to be a handmaiden. Secondly that she could read, and had done so extensively, with a level of comprehension that enabled her to have in-depth discussions about content with her Queen. (Regina honestly looked forward to the moments when she and Emma could speak freely, or play chess, even though she would never, ever admit to it aloud.) Emma had clearly led a privileged life at some point, which was a strange juxtaposition to her current position, as were the scars that she hid on her wrists. Additionally, and most infuriatingly, Emma was calm. Too calm, really, for a tavern girl who shouldn't understand or much less be accustomed to the inner workings of a castle, and of its politics. And yet she was. These things were all beyond suspicious, and Regina was well aware that Emma was not who she claimed to be.
The question being; who was she really?
Anyone else would have banished Emma from his or her presence under such circumstances, but Regina did not fear the blonde. There was little she could do to harm her when Regina was so well protected by her magic. Emma was many things, but she wasn't magic. She was as dead to Regina's senses as any of the other servants, and the lower mages and apprentices in her employ had all confirmed this as well. Moreover, Regina detected no ill will from Emma. Despite the deception, it seemed the blonde had no desire to harm her Queen. Though she knew that such impressions could (and often were) misleading, Regina had a good feel for Emma, she thought, and as improbable as she thought it was, she knew the blonde was actually quite fond of her. No one was fond of the Evil Queen, except for her. It was… a nice feeling, and Regina was reluctantly fond of Emma as well, though she would never express it aloud, she knew.
That fondness was why Emma would be going with her to the ancestral Raillon keep to attend to her duties even outside of the castle. It wasn't an uncommon practice to travel with personal servants, but it was something Regina rarely did. Much like the sunrise, though, Emma had become one of the rare joys in her life. Regina didn't know her. Not really. But she had lived long enough to learn that it was wise to take happiness when and where it could be found, even if it was in something as simple as the care shown to her by someone who was paid to do it.
But such was the life of a Queen, she told herself for the second time that day.
Resolved, Regina proceeded with court, and informed her scribe to make arrangements for the trip while she worked first with the people who had come to seek her counsel, and then later alone in her study with finances. By the time she returned to her chambers it was well after supper, and she was exhausted beneath her Queenly mask as well as nursing a pounding headache that made her cringe away from the brightness of the torchlight in the hall.
Emma was already waiting for her when she entered the suite, standing in the doorway to the bathroom. She dropped into a deep curtsey when Regina stepped inside. "I've drawn you a bath, my Queen, if it pleases you," she said softly, sharp eyes zeroed in on the vein standing out in Regina's forehead. "I used the mint bathing salts. Would you like me to fetch some herbal tea with lemon?"
The fact that Emma now could predict her headaches and knew her preferred treatments for them, despite the fact that Regina had never confessed to any such pains, almost made her smile. Almost. Instead, the brunette just nodded once and allowed her handmaiden to undress her and assist her in stepping into the waiting tub of water, which she heated with a delicate flick of the wrist. Regina sighed with content as the heat soothed her coiled muscles, and she leaned her head back against the rim of the tub with her eyes closed.
"Oh, and Emma?" she called, hearing soft footsteps begin to make their way out of the room, presumably to fetch the earlier offering of tea. "Do prepare yourself for a trip south, dear. Lord Verye is marrying the Lady Mary in a fortnight, and you're to accompany me to the keep while I attend the ceremony."
A soft snort of laughter escaped the blonde. Verye visited the castle on a regular basis, and Regina knew that the servants were doubtlessly familiar with his habits. "Is the Lady Mary with child?" the blonde queried dryly.
And Regina did smile this time.