A/N- Thank you so much for the reads and reviews! As always, I don't own anything :)
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As darkness crept in, they stopped and camped out. It was the first time they had spent without a bed in quite a while and Regina found the ground rather uncomfortable. She disliked camping in the open, it made her feel vulnerable; especially after the run-in they had with the new queen's band of miscreants. She assumed that the unconscious man was most likely headed back to his mistress to regroup. Shaking these thoughts from her head, the brunette cast a glance to the blonde sleeping not two feet from her. Close enough that she could have reached out and-
Something caught her gaze and the dark woman sat up abruptly. A pair of glittering eyes were watching her from the trees. As she observed this, they nodded to her and she sensed that whatever creature to which these eyes belonged was intelligent. She nudged her companion and Emma rolled to her feet immediately, drawing her sword, and looking about with bleary eyes.
"Drop your weapon, Miss Swan." Regina hissed and Emma narrowed her eyes. "Trust me!" the woman spat impatiently.
Emma placed the weapon on the ground slowly as Regina rose and pointed upward to the eyes. The blonde's face registered shock. "What the fuck is that?"
"I believe it's a flying monkey."
"Like the witch's monkeys?" Emma's sluggish brain began twirling. Her motor skills were much more functional than her reasoning skills when woken from a dead sleep.
"The same." Then the woman turned her attention to the beast. "I am Regina. I was a friend of Elphaba's. I have met your kind, I distinctly remember a monkey named Chistery; Elphaba's most loyal companion."
"Chistery was my father. I am Rishtay." The monkey leapt and swung gracefully to a much lower branch. "I remember you; you look different than when you visited."
"I was young." She offered.
"It's not that." The monkey said thoughtfully then shrugged. "But what do I know?" He then leapt lower once more until he was eye level with the women across the campsite. "Elphaba has long since died, her son is also dead, and his daughter was overthrown with the Ozma. Many of my kind have been enslaved or put to death because we represent the old way of life; the way of free knowledge, magic, and intrigue."
"And this new queen…what does she want?"
"Modernization and control." The monkey said and made a disgusted face. "She glories in the tic-tok machines and they do her bidding."
"Glinda-"
"Is dead."
Regina knew this, of course, but faltered for a few seconds; Emma picked up in her stead. "So this queen cannot use magic?"
"No, she tries and fails."
"She tries?" The brunette suspected that the new queen was using the Grimmerie, but preferred to have it confirmed by more than one source.
"I think you remember the spell book Elphaba often used."'
"The Grimmerie…" Regina whispered. "Yes, it frustrated her that I could read it so easily."
"Yes, well the queen now has it and, as I understand, keeps it on her person at all times." The monkey fluttered nearer and Emma could see now that he was not in the least bit grotesque. Rather, his wings fit seamlessly with his body, his posture was regal, and his eyes bright with curiosity.
"But she cannot use it?"
"She cannot read it. However, she had a sorceress translate one spell for her." The monkey said.
"Only one?"
"One was all she needed. This one spell allows her to channel magic from the body of another."
This statement confirmed the women's worst fear and left a ringing silence about their small encampment.
"Is there no usurper to this queen?"
"Yes, like you, she comes from another land; a distant one that knew magic."
"Where is she?"
"In hiding." The monkey said mysteriously.
"Great." Said Emma, Regina shot her a look that told her to be quiet. But the frustrated blonde rolled her eyes. She had deduced shrewdly that the monkey was sent by this woman to determine whether they were friend or foe.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you. I can, however, get out a message to her."
Regina regarded the strange beast a moment. "We are merely passing though. We seek only to get out of this world and back to our own. I do not wish to fight a war."
The monkey, at these words, bowed slightly. "As you wish." He said then pinned them with glittering eyes again. "But be warned, though the queen cannot do magic, it won't stop her from trying to obtain yours. Your destination may not be safe."
"I am aware." Regina said to the cryptic monkey. The creature nodded to her, then to the blonde and was off.
"What the fuck just happened?" Emma ran a hand through her curls. "Flying monkeys that talk? Spell books that no one can read?"
"The species was created by Elphaba, Chistery was her most loyal; he was like a child to her. More so than even her own son."
"Who is also dead and his daughter too?" Emma asked as Regina nodded. "This bloodline has some serious issues."
"Liir was Elphaba's son and his daughter, Rain, was the last true queen's lover. Apparently, they were both overthrown in the takeover."
"That's a scant picture of the history of the last several decades." Emma pointed out.
"Indeed, but it doesn't affect us; we are here for the bean. Not the Grimmerie, not the broomstick, not the uprising. We are here for the bean."
"To bring us back to Henry." The blonde finished quietly for her companion.
Regina lay back down on her bedroll and turned away from the blonde. But she wasn't entirely surprised when she felt Emma's weight on the ground beside her and her warmth enveloping her; comforting her. The brunette resisted a sigh as she felt the woman nuzzle into her neck and fall back to sleep.
They awoke to the sunlight and, after a hasty breakfast, set out once more until the towers of Kiamo Ko began to peek out from between the rocks of the mountains. It rose in dark stone and gothic towers as though aggressively attacking the blue expanse of sky.
"There it is." Regina breathed sadly as she took in its disrepair.
"It's creepy." Emma wrinkled her nose.
"Yes, well, Elphaba wasn't fond of visitors." Regina dismounted to lead the horse up into the mountains. "We'll continue on foot so as to not upset the rock any more than we must."
By the time they reached the top, both women were out of breath and their clothing was sticking to them in the hot sun. Regina led the horse straight into the open hallway and looped the reigns over her back. She could feel the tingling of residual magic here; as though it had stored up over the decades and was begging to be unleashed. It prickled her skin and gave her goosebumps.
"Don't wander far, Miss Swan."
"I'm capable of taking care of myself." She answered.
"As you wish, I was merely expressing concern that the ceiling might come caving in upon your head, but no matter; you don't use it anyway." She quipped and turned to start up the stairs to the witch's tower.
The brunette let herself into the heavy wooden door and glanced around. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw that it had been ransacked several times it seemed. Just as she was about to begin her own, more delicate search of the quarters, she detected movement from her peripheral. A sharp strike to her head sent her down to her knees and another blow knocked her unconscious. All she knew then was darkness.