Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Once Upon a Time.
Author's Note: Here's another relatively boring chapter, but bear with me, it gets better. Enjoy, and as always, R & R!
Again, Marcie Gore, I so enjoy your comments :)
Armina rose from her chair and looked out her window, finding her husband riding his horse, leading Emma and Henry around at a snail's pace. With a grin, she shapeshifted for the second time in this world. She shifted into the form of a small black cat, slipping out the window and landing soundly on her feet.
She ran easily on all fours, enjoying the feeling of having four legs again. She made her way into the stable and shifted back to her human form. Orgetorix whinnied happily, growing excited when she opened his stall door. He walked out and bowed his head as she climbed onto his broad back.
She got him going in a collected trot and summoned a bow and a quiver of arrows with the flick of her wrist. She summoned several targets and began to fire arrows into each bull's-eye. Orgetorix kicked into a gallop, and his gait remained remarkably even and measured. She placed arrows so perfectly that she drove the first ones through the center with the second ones. Her quiver never emptied, and she kept firing until the center of each target was shot through with several arrows. It had been a long time since she had an opportunity to shoot on horseback, but it appeared she had yet to lose her edge.
She pulled Orgetorix back from his gallop and let him cool down. Armina gave him a loving pat on the neck and allowed him to trot outside of the arena they had been practicing in. Armina caught sight of Emma and Henry riding their bay mares and urged Orgetorix to catch up with them. He gladly complied.
He easily caught up with their slow pace and kept up, making sure he was in front of all of them. "Emma, I see my husband seems to have taught you how to sit astride a horse. Your father was very skilled in battle on horseback."
"So I've been told," said Emma, tightening her grip on her reins.
They rode together in an awkward silence, which Armina didn't seem to mind too much. Henry would break the silence every once in a while to ask a question about the flowers or wildlife around the sprawling estate.
Suddenly Armina pulled Orgetorix to a halt. She seemed to be studying something in the distance. Instantly, she kicked the Friesian into a gallop in the direction of what she saw.
Emma followed, nervously getting her horse to canter forward with Henry right beside her. Andrew brought up the rear, eventually passing them as he saw who it was.
"Emma, it's Snow White and Prince James!" said Henry excitedly. He kicked his mare into a mild gallop and sped away. Emma didn't feel quite comfortable enough to gallop just yet, but she got her horse go at a little faster pace.
When Emma arrived, she found Armina speaking with Snow and her prince. Andrew coaxed Henry off his horse, telling him that he needed to talk with his grandparents now. He told Emma she could dismount as well, which she gladly did. Emma greeted her newly-discovered parents and they all walked to Armina's massive house.
Emma dragged Henry up to his room to gather up his stuff before they left to raid Regina's house. Meanwhile, Armina gathered the two soon-to-be monarchs in her main dining room, where she had ordered that tea be brought to them.
"I can't imagine that you've taken care of twenty-eight years of talking in two days," said Armina with a knowing smile. Snow White blushed a bright red.
"We decided that it was best to ask what's going to happen when you find Regina," said David, his face equally red.
"I'm sure. Well, let me explain why I must find her in the first place. You see, there is a prophecy that foretells this very situation." Snow's look of confusion earned Armina's amused smile as she sat down in one of the ornate chairs at the table. "It tells of three queens: the Evil Queen, Good Queen, and the Neutral. In the prophecy, it is said that the Good Queen shall dethrone the Evil by means of the Neutral. The Evil Queen is obviously our wonderful little Regina."
"That's what I figured. Who is the Good?" asked Snow White.
Armina grinned. "The prophecy foretells that the Good shall be called 'fairest of them all' and shall be kind to all she meets. My dear, can you tell me who she is?"
A chill ran down Snow's spine at her words. It couldn't be possible. "I'm…her, aren't I?" she said quietly. The Queen of Beasts' grin widened, exposing the rounded points of her teeth. "If I'm the Good Queen, who is the third?"
"My dear, that would be me," said Armina. "I am the Regina Media, and I shall be the means through which you will receive your birthright. I have the power to regain your crown and return us home, but there is one issue we must overcome."
"What's that?" asked James.
"I must take Regina's power if we are ever going to return home. In order to reverse the curse, the power that created it must be harnessed to break it. True Love's Kiss can only do so much, and it's now useless here."
"You can't possibly think that Regina will reverse the curse herself."
"Of course not! I have decided to take her power for myself. I've already taken part of it before she got away from me last night."
"You found her and didn't capture her?" asked James angrily.
"You must understand that I did what I could. As I began to drain her power she took advantage of my vulnerable state. It takes a lot to drain magickal powers from another being. She threw me back and escaped to lick her wounds and fight another day. I've already sent my new captain of the guard, Rumpelstiltskin, to catch her for me."
"You can't be serious," said Snow in disbelief.
"I assure you he has plenty of…incentive to find her quickly."
"Such as?" asked James.
"When he brings her to me, he has a week to spend with his new wife," she said with a grin.
"Who would marry him?" asked Snow incredulously. As if on cue, Belle strode in, book in hand, and stopped dead in her tracks.
"I'm terribly sorry. Am I interrupting something?" asked Belle.
"No, my dear, you actually have impeccable timing. Why don't you tell Snow White and Prince James your good news?" encouraged Armina.
Belle blushed and sat down next to the monarch. "I… got married yesterday… to Rumpelstiltskin." As soon as she finished her sentence, Snow's jaw dropped.
"Aren't you happy for them, Snow? I'm so glad that they found each other. True Love's Kiss broke his spell and now he's captain of my guard. The Dark One is gone, and has been replaced with a much kinder Rumpelstiltskin," Armina explained. Belle's blush grew, but she couldn't hold back the brilliant smile that begged to grace her lips.
"He gave up his power?" asked James, his face full of disbelief.
"He loves me more than he ever did his power. He told me he regretted everything he'd said in the old world and that he would never lose me again. He, uh, he proposed to me then and her majesty married us yesterday…" said Belle, drifting off at the end of her sentence.
"So there you have it. I shall be the means through which we shall return to the old world, as soon as I get Regina's power. All get their respective happily ever after's and the world is back in balance."
Just as Snow White was ready to talk again, the sound of many leather boots hitting wooden floors tore their attention from the previous conversation. There was a sharp intake of breath from Armina, who grinned and said, "We've found our fugitive."