Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Once Upon a Time.
Author's Note: I would again like to thank my readers for their loyalty. I couldn't do this without your comments and encouragement!
As always, R & R!
"So be it," said Andrew with a smile.
"What?" shouted Emma, standing at the entrance to the study.
Armina smiled and beckoned the woman closer. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that I'm apparently going to be some sort of queen. I'll tell you right now that it's not going to happen," she said coming into the room. "I'm not a princess, and I don't plan on being one."
"That sucks," said the queen in a decidedly firm tone. "You are still my declared heir, and you will ascend the throne whether you like it or not."
Henry piped up. "What about your son?" Emma's face went from defiant to confused in an instant as she looked to the queen.
Armina replied, "We'll get over that obstacle when we come to it, Henry. For now, Emma, you must understand that in order to return home, we must crown you queen, and the easiest way is to give you my throne. For the prophecy declares, 'the Third Queen will know truth from lie.' That is the manifestation of your powers. You are the Third Queen."
"No! Can't you understand that I don't want this? I don't want to be the center of attention!" Emma yelled.
"Well, I suggest you get over that, Miss Swan, because you will soon be Queen of Beasts, and I will hold you to better behavior than this. I won't leave you completely, you know. I will remain at court for as long as you have need of me," said Armina, trying to calm the woman.
"I still don't want this, any of this," Emma insisted.
"I assure you, Emma, you will be well-advised on the workings of our world," said Andrew as he sat down in a leather armchair. "Once my wife commits to something like this, you cannot sway her," he said with a grin.
"I would suggest you go with Andrew to find something to wear at your impromptu coronation, Emma. Andrew, take her to my wardrobe and find an ermine cloak that might fit her highness. You have always had impeccable taste for special occasion clothing. She can wear whatever she wants underneath. You needn't find a crown," she said, ignoring his comment and beginning to pick up the books she had strewn about the room.
Andrew rose and offered his arm for Emma to take, but she simply walked out of the room after giving Armina a pointed look of pure contempt before doing so. Andrew followed with a disappointed look at Emma's reaction to picking out coronation robes.
While Emma was choosing her accoutrements, Armina employed magick and Henry to put away the small disaster area that had become of the queen's study. There were loose papers and books everywhere in the room, and it was a massive undertaking.
After nearly half an hour, they had finished their cleaning of her study, and walked to Armina and Andrew's shared chambers. They found Emma standing in front of a full-length mirror, clearly unhappy with the massive crimson, ermine-trimmed cape about her shoulders.
"This one is just too long, Andrew! Can't I just wear my normal stuff?" complained Emma.
He laughed. "Is it my fault that you haven't the ability to wear a decent-length cape for your coronation?"
"It is your fault if you've chosen my most lavish ones," said the queen as she entered the chamber. She walked over to the wardrobe and began to rifle through her capes and cloaks. "If I might guess, you first gave her my coronation robe. That damn thing has a thirty foot train! I can imagine how it would overpower anyone's form but mine, love."
"You can't blame me for my sense of grandeur when it comes to such important affairs," he replied with a grin. "We Fae do so enjoy our lavish parties, you know. I would invite you to them once you are crowned, Emma; you would enjoy them, I think."
"Here's a good one for you," said Armina, triumphantly pulling out a much smaller version of the cape Emma already had on. "This should work for our purposes. I haven't taken the time to summon an entire replica of my old wardrobe since some might be considered too outlandish for even Storybrooke, but this will suffice."
Armina pulled the long ermine cape from Emma's shoulders and replaced it with the much smaller version that didn't overpower Emma's smaller frame. "These fur shoulders make me look like a football player," insisted Emma.
"As I said before, these were made for me, a beast, and not a human. I am, how you say, more built than yourself. Of course, we shall see to a better-fitted wardrobe once we return to our true home and I crown your mother," she said, combing the ermine with her fingers in an attempt to make it more presentable. "You can take that off now. We'll crown you before twilight."
"What are we doing until then?" asked Henry, hopping out of his chair.
"I know not, Henry. Perhaps Andrew could take you for a visit with that mare you've befriended. Oh, what is her name?"
"Epona likes me," he replied. "Can we go, Andrew?"
He rolled his eyes and got up from his perch in the window. "You are simply enthralled by the idea of horses, aren't you? Let's go and find your prized mare."
Armina walked over to him and whispered something to him, which earned a surprised look from him. Emma saw him mouth the words 'Kellan Conroy' with disbelief. He nodded, his eyes betraying the fact that he was focusing on something else as he followed Henry out the door.
When they were gone, Emma pulled the cape from her shoulders, throwing it onto the queen's bed. "Can we talk?" asked Emma as she peered through the doors leading to a balcony.
"I suppose we could. Go ahead and continue to that balcony. I will bring something to drink," she replied.
Emma walked through the doors and looked out from the balcony. It looked over the entire estate, and she could see the stables and the late afternoon sky from there. Armina walked out of the room with a bottle of merlot and two glasses, and poured the drink once she had set the glasses onto the railing. "Here's something to calm your frayed nerves," said the queen with a kind smile. "What did you want to talk about?"
"In that dream, you said that you had no heir. Now Henry says you have a son. Can you explain that?"
The queen sighed and summoned two chairs for them to sit in. "I do have a son, but I've not been able to find him in Storybrooke. His name was Caradoc, and I loved him very much, but he was taken away by the curse. He was so young…"
"How old was he?" asked Emma.
"He was fourteen," the queen replied.
"That's… not all that young," said Emma, confused.
"For our kind, fourteen is very young. When you live for centuries, fourteen years is insignificant in the long term. He's half Fae, half shapeshifter, so he will live for a long time. He was very young. I've lost so much time with him."
"Who is he here? Have you figured it out?"
"I hate to admit it, but the curse did make my mind a bit foggy. Even if I went to search, I would forget why I went into town. I may have still had my memories, but even I became just part of Storybrooke's everyday life. I was a Latin teacher named Amy, who was married to the lumber company owner called Andrew Bowen. His name in the old world was Faolan Magna. He's grown fond of his Storybrooke name, though," she said with an amused smile. She seemed to be reminiscing, but Emma had more questions.
"What's his name here?"
"According to your son, his name is Kellan Conroy, the town veterinarian. He says that he's very quiet and reserved. Caradoc was always a quiet boy, and I hope that Kellan is my Caradoc. I need my son back, Emma, and then I will be happy," she said, her eyes filling with unshed tears.
Emma placed a comforting hand on the queen's shoulder and sipped her wine. "When can we get this coronation over with?"
"We will do it this evening, when the full moon rises. I happen to have the final ingredient for the spell in my possession, and we'll return home tonight, I promise."
Emma gave her a quizzical look, "If you aren't queen anymore, what will you be?"
"I expect that I will become someone high up in the court, and I will advise you on your ruling until your time comes to an end, or until you get fed up with me," she added with a smile. "I should probably tell you that the agreement for Regina's punishment means her custody transfers to you as the new Queen of Beasts."
"She's my responsibility?"
"Naturally, I'll cast a geas on her so that she'll listen to you without a second thought. That should make your job easier in regards to the former Evil Queen," suggested Armina. She checked the clock on the opposite side of the room and stood. "We're losing daylight. We must get our steeds and crown you in the town center."
"We're riding horses?"
Armina gave her a 'duh' look and said, "Of course we are! Even the Queen Elizabeth rode a horse at her coronation. We shall follow her example." Armina led Emma out of her chambers and down to the stables, where they found Henry helping Andrew saddle Epona and a couple other horses for their trip into town.
Orgetorix was in his stall, protesting his entrapment behind the door. Armina made a barely discernible movement, and the latch undid itself, letting the massive black horse free from his confinement. He eyed Emma closely, his breath heavy with the excitement of what the horse knew was coming. It appeared he wanted to go home too.
Armina suddenly appeared behind Emma and placed the red cape around her shoulders, holding it around her neck with a jeweled brooch. She helped Emma onto her horse, which appeared to be very similar in appearance to the untouchable Orgetorix. "You are riding Dumnorix, brother to Orgetorix. He's a bit less spirited than Orgetorix, and he's more flexible when it comes to riders. He will be yours when you are crowned."
Armina mounted Orgetorix bareback, without as much as a bridle to control the animal. Emma didn't bother questioning this. Henry was lifted onto the saddle of Epona, who stood obediently while he got situated. Andrew mounted his Morgan gelding and Armina prodded Orgetorix into a gallop across the cobblestone and into the forest towards Storybrooke.
Emma was hesitant at first, but she found Dumnorix to be sure-footed as he dodged trees and roots, keeping pace with his brother. She stole a glance back at Henry, and found him smiling as Epona did just as well, with Andrew's gelding following close behind.
When she saw that Henry was doing alright, she allowed herself to relax, if only a little. He seemed to be in good hands with Epona.
When they finally reached a marked road, neither Orgetorix nor Dumnorix appeared to be tired from their ride through the woods. They trotted into the center of town and dismounted. Armina simply walked away from Orgetorix, leaving him to feed on the lawn of a nearby house.
"Um, shouldn't we tie him up or something?" asked Emma as she got off of Dumnorix. The red cape attempted to hinder this action, but she managed to get down without major injury.
"He will stay close to his queen, and his herd will do the same," Andrew replied as he helped Henry get off of Epona. "For now, we must focus on finding a Mr. Kellan Conroy and crowning a new queen."