Here we go! Chapter 8! I know I told some people I'd have it up last night, but alas, it ended up taking a bit longer, and I had to sleep.

And I'm glad to have clarified the whole Emma's age thing for everyone, if there are still any questions regarding that, just let me know and I'll try to explain it more.

Anyway, are things going to start getting intense? Oh yeah!

So without further ado: the beginning of shit going south.

Enjoy!

"Heading out?" Jonathan asked, bringing her horse to her.

Emma nodded, mounting Bandit and beginning to guide her steed towards the archway. "Lots of people that need to be alleviated from their riches!"

For the past two weeks, Emma had been busy thieving the surrounding areas. Although it was her duty to bring in their income, she enjoyed getting to mess around with visiting royals who travelled through their neck of the forest, so she never saw it as something tedious or tiring.

However, lately their level of income had suffered because the Ne'er-Do-Well gang had been usurping their targets before them. Despite the fact that it was a direct breach of the treaties they had signed and agreed to with all the other bands, gangs, and groups within the forest, there was little they could do in terms of getting justice for this; the Ne'er-Do-Wells were never known to play by the rules, and there was no body of regulations for cases like these. So Emma, along with her fellow group of Storybrooke's top thieves were on double duties trying to balance their books.

Unfortunately, it led to less frequent visits to Regina because she was bone tired by the time she got home, and heading to the Dark Kingdom was out of the question. When she explained the situation to her lover, Regina had tried to hand her some of the countless jewels she had amassed and had no use for, but Emma turned it down, mainly because she felt bad to take Regina's jewellery, even if it was being given to her willingly. Not to mention that she would have no way to explain how she acquired them, because precious gems didn't just appear out of nowhere, and if there was no high-ranking dignitary screaming bloody murder, it'd look even more suspicious.

Eventually Regina relented, but made Emma promise that she wouldn't wear herself thin to the point of making stupid mistakes and getting caught. Emma promised and sealed it with a sweet kiss before she left.

Now, Emma crossed over to the Enchanted Forest, and began to wander. She briefly considered visiting Regina, but then remembered that the monarch had said she was entertaining some friends, and would be busy. So she worked her horse up to a canter and set off to travel off-roads in search of new victims.

2 hours later, perched on one of the high look-out posts, she found her target. A stark white carriage with rich gilded decorations was riding through the forest. Emma jumped down from her vantage point and climbed onto Ban, urging him to follow quietly.

As she got closer, she saw that there were a lack of guards, and wondered why a carriage would be travelling unaccompanied. Especially one so richly decorated. Emma was certain that if she had had the time to chip away all the gold paint from the carriage, she would be able to square away the poverty in quite a few kingdoms. Even the wheels were golden!

Seeing that the curtains were pulled down, and therefore meant she was unseen to the travellers, Emma neared the carriage so that she was riding side by side with it, keeping pace with the carriage's horses. Making her way beside the driver, Emma swung her leg to ride sidesaddle. The poor man barely had time to react before she was upon him.

"What the-" he managed to get out before Emma jumped out of her saddle and onto the driver's platform, knocking him out with a clean punch.

Taking the reins, she kept the horses on their steady pace before hooking the end of the reins on the carriage's front handle so she could have both hands loose and adjust the driver's unconscious self, laying him down flat across the platform by her feet. It would be painful once he woke up and took stock all the bruises from the uneven and bumpy road, but it was the only place she could put him without throwing him overboard or having to keep him seated beside her, which was more trouble than it was worth. Once that was done, she took the reins again.

"Ban, go hide!" Emma hissed the command to her horse who was still keeping pace, satisfied when the horse veered to wait, unseen. After that was done, Emma pulled the reins. The horses responded immediately and braked, drifting up a cloud of dust at their sudden stop.

Wasting no time, Emma climbed on top of the carriage and waited, hearing muffled voices from inside, clearly informing Emma that the carriage had at least two people, probably 3. It didn't take long before the left door burst open, making the conversation clear.

"Oh just let me handle it. I'm itching for some action," one woman was saying. She stepped outside and Emma carefully took note of the black dress and pointy hat. Once the woman started to look around, walking a bit further out, Emma noticed that she had emerald green skin. Before long, the woman saw Emma perched on top of the carriage, ready to pounce.

"Well hello there!" she greeted, flashing a disarming smile.

Emma didn't respond, but rather jumped off the ledge towards the green woman. Her plan failed miserably as she felt something coil around her and hold her in mid-air.

"Tch, tch! Now this won't do!" the woman exclaimed with a gleeful smirk.

The thief struggled within the grip of what she now saw was a very long tree branch magically coiled around her middle, trapping her arms as well. Emma soon realized that it was pointless as she was brought closer to the woman. "Now, let's see what's under this mysterious hood, shall we?"

Emma tensed her legs, and at just the right moment, pushed out, the soles of her boots making a solid contact with the woman's chest, pushing her back with a loud yelp until she fell over from losing balance. The woman's skewed focus meant that Emma was able to pull herself away from the branch, landing on the ground with a small thud.

However, the woman's exclamation, as well as the retreating branch hitting the carriage alerted the other travellers.

"Zelena! Are you alright?" a blonde stepped out, wearing a bright green dress, hair styled into a tight bun on top of her head. Seeing Zelena on the ground trying to get up, and the hooded thief standing nearby, she readied her hands, powering them up with magic as well.

Seeing that there were two magic wielders - which explained the lack of guards - Emma decided that she wouldn't allow herself to be overpowered, and would graciously admit defeat by getting the hell out of dodge. Grabbing a smoke bomb from her pouch, Emma threw it to the ground by the blonde in the green dress, barely noticing the new blonde coming out of the carriage.

"What the hell?" the new voice sounded, clearly coming from the newest woman to join the fray. "Is this your doing, Tink?"

"No! It was that thief!"

Emma wouldn't stick around to find out what that group of magical women would do to thieves, so she scrambled to hide in the underbush. However, her plans were put to a halt when she was once again seized by a branch and hauled into the air upside down with a loud yelp, and pulled back to the carriage. It seemed Zelena had cleared the smoke with a wave of her hand, and she now saw that there were four women.

She guessed Tink was the one in green, and the other blonde Emma recognized as being Princess Abigail. And the fourth..."Regina?"

Regina for her part, looked quizzically at the thief she was suspending upside down.

"You know her?" Tink asked, turning to the monarch clad in her dark red dress.

She said nothing, merely stepped closer to where Emma was now being righted, the branch's hold loosening ever so slightly. With another flicker of her hand, Emma's hood was lowered. "Emma," she responded with a smile.

Without further ado, Emma was lowered to the ground, and let go. "Hi," she greeted, smiling sheepishly.

Regina was looking very amused at her lover, but Zelena not so much. "Hold on a minute, I recognize you."

"You do?" everyone asked, surprised. Foremost were Regina and Emma, who exchanged a single look of pure confusion.

"Yes, I sold you an apple a while back in the market. You were in quite a state."

Emma remembered the incident, it was the second time she had visited Regina, after Lord Vincent's men had given chase to her. She looked different with green skin, but the auburn hair was the same, she was surprised she didn't recognize her, Emma was usually good with faces. Before she could say anything, Regina had rounded off on her. "You were hurt?"

Once more Emma was interrupted before she got a word in, this time by Zelena. "Anyone want to explain to me what's going on?"

"Well..." Emma attempted, before Regina stepped in.

"Emma and I are lovers." It was a succinct way of encompassing their relationship, skipping over how exactly they came to be acquainted and the nuances of their relation.

Tink and Abigail looked ecstatic, while Zelena still looked very confused. "Didn't know thieves were your style, sis."

"Sis? That's your sister?" Emma blurted out.

Zelena finally cackled. "Half, but yes, sister. And due to the lack of other family, I will be asking you of your intentions..." at Regina's glare, Zelena amended, "at a later date, of course."

That didn't make Emma feel any better about the eventual interrogation.

"Well this is all fun and games, but perhaps we could talk more when we arrive at our destination?" Abigail asked. "You are obviously welcome to join us, Emma."

"Oh!" Emma bit her lip as she thought. After a moment of deliberation, she looked at Regina, whose face clearly displayed her hopefulness that Emma would say yes. "Alright. If you want, I can steer while your driver comes to."

Zelena snorted in amusement, looking to the front where she could now see the unconscious driver. Abigail meanwhile rushed to the driver and to make sure he was alright.

Then it was settled. Emma called Bandit back and tied his reins to the side of the carriage so he would ride alongside them, and Emma got in the front seat. While she waited for the other ladies to get back in the carriage, since they were taking the opportunity to stretch their legs, she was mildly surprised when Regina made her way towards her and sat down beside her. Emma looked confused at Regina, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Regina didn't look the least bit fazed as she responded, "I'm going to be riding beside you, what does it look like I'm doing?"

Emma hardly knew how to articulate herself, but finally managed to say, "Wouldn't you rather prefer to be inside though? That dress looks really uncomfortable for this humid weather."

"Perhaps so," she acquiesced, waving her hands around herself, changing her dress to riding clothes. "But you are here, and I find that much more entertaining and intriguing than riding inside with them, even if they are my friends."

Emma smiled, growing wider when Regina pressed their lips together. They were interrupted by a knocking from inside, indicating that they were ready to go. Breaking apart, Emma made sure Bandit was tied securely, and she got the horses going.

After a few minutes of silently riding, Emma turned and saw Regina's eyes were closed as the air whipped past her. "So, quite a motley of friends you keep."

Regina chuckled. "The perks of being a Queen. Tinkerbell has been my friend for quite a number of years, and Princess Abigail is a more recent acquisition."

"Acquisition? You make it sound like it's a kingdom you seized," Emma commented.

"Maybe I am planning it," Regina responded with a mischievous smirk. "But no, I have a healthy alliance with Midas' kingdom, and since he is abdicating the throne soon, I thought it'd be wise to become friends with the future Queen. Nothing sinister."

Emma nodded. "And your half-sister?"

Regina sighed. "That is a bit of a hairier matter. Zelena showed up 6 years ago with the full intention of doing me off in the name of revenge. However, by some coincidence, our tussle led us right to Wonderland."

The thief was listening intently, eyes widening when she heard of Wonderland. From what she had learnt, the place left Mist Haven looking like child's play. "What happened then?"

"Then, Zelena met my mother, the intimidating Queen of Hearts. Suffice it to say that within 10 minutes, she was changing her tune. No longer was Zelena jealous that I had to grow up with the vile woman." Regina had told Emma a little about her mother, though she thankfully withheld from asking Emma about hers. "And the rest is history. We managed to get ourselves away from that madness, and back here. Zelena travels between here and Oz, visiting me. And as you saw, she sometimes helps out by selling apples, though I have no idea why she enjoys it so much."

Emma chuckled.

"Now, what was this about you being hurt?" Regina pressed.

So Emma explained about Lord Vincent and her narrow escape a while back.

When she was done, Regina admonished her for not telling her. "I could have healed you!"

"Well if memory serves me right, you were a bit angry that day," Emma countered.

"Still," was Regina's petulant answer.

With a chuckle, Emma pulled the royal closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. She was thankful that everyone else from Storybrooke was either hidden in the village, or far away, so she was in no danger of being discovered. She knew she should tell Regina the truth soon, but she had no idea how to get around to it.

Regina burrowed closer to her, clearly also of the idea that no one would be bothered to think that this was the feared Evil Queen snuggling up to a thief. "I missed you," she murmured.

"Me too." Emma punctuated it with a kiss to Regina's forehead.

Their destination ended up being a cottage near Midas' kingdom, owned by Abigail herself. Once everyone had gotten down and their luggage deposited inside, Emma tried to excuse herself, saying that she had to leave and continue her duty to rob people, but Abigail wasn't having any of it.

"Just take my jewels. Heavens knows I can get plenty more without spending a penny," she said, undoing the clasps of her necklace.

"I couldn't-" Emma tried to counter.

Abigail insisted. "Oh come on. Just take it already. You get to stay a bit longer, and I'll make sure to describe a magnificently epic tale of how you spirited it away from my own neck."

"And," Regina added, magicking a bag of what Emma suspected was more glistening jewels and trinkets, "an additional bag of jewellery was in her carriage, that you certainly couldn't leave behind."

Emma was speechless, but Regina quickly solved that by covering Emma's parted lips with her own, drawing them into a deep kiss.

"This cottage has rooms, you know?" Zelena jeered. "Very private rooms?"

Merely throwing an obscene gesture her way, Regina said nothing, as her mouth was currently very busy. A few seconds later, she transported herself and Emma into one of the aforementioned rooms. There, Regina began to explore her lover's body with abandon, and Emma wasn't anymore shy with her own wandering hands.

A few hours later, they rejoined Regina's friends, and the trio of tittering women had no shortage of lewd comments and questions about the couple's activities as they ate dinner. Neither Emma nor Regina were shy about their responses, more often than not just throwing witty comebacks to counter.

By that time, Abigail's driver was awake, and Emma profusely apologized to him, ensuring that it was nothing personal. He accepted the apologies with a smile and a chuckle, understanding the situation. Emma found out the man's name was Frederick, and that he was currently courting Abigail; he served not only as her driver, but also her personal knight, at the behest of her father, who insisted that she needed protection from all the dangers in the world.

In Emma's mind, Frederick still needed plenty of training.

Soon enough, it was time for Emma to head back home, and she made her way outside to drop off the bags of jewellery she was 'stealing' into Bandit's pouches.

"Will I get to see you soon?" Regina asked from behind her.

Emma smiled and nodded. "Yes, hopefully very soon. I'll probably still have to do plenty of thieving for the rest of the week, but maybe next week we can get together?"

Regina made her way closer to Emma. "Well I have to travel a bit to visit a dignitary nearby, early next week. Perhaps after that?"

She nodded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around Regina's waist until they were standing merely a breath away from the other. "I can't wait, my Queen."

Their lips met once again for a lingering kiss, and when they parted, neither woman wanted to step away.

"Be safe, okay?" Regina said, tucking a strand of errant hair behind Emma's ear.

"Always am."

"What's got you so excited?" Neal asked with a huff.

They were both taking care of the books, counting the village's earnings and divvying it up for their next outing. Neal was being his usual grouchy self, while Emma could hardly contain her excitement. She was going to see Regina tomorrow, and she could hardly wait.

"Nothing much," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe because we're nearly done here."

"Good."

Emma couldn't help but riposte, "Still think this is better than stable duty?"

Neal cracked a smile for once. "Nah, definitely mucking up the stables is better. I hate math."

"You and me both. Now come on, let's wrap this up and we can see if there's still sun to be enjoyed."

20 minutes later, they were both locking things up and heading outside. It was still light out, but Emma wouldn't get to enjoy the sun for much longer. After parting ways with Neal, she started to make her way home, but stopped when she heard her mother call her name.

Turning, she saw the dishevelled state Snow was in as soon as she stopped in front of her to catch her breath. "Mom? What is it?"

"Greg has run off, and Red had informed me that the Evil Queen is travelling, so we have to find him," Snow explained in a rush.

Emma blanched. So much for a peaceful day to get her hyped for seeing Regina. "Alright, let me get changed, and I'll meet you by the archway."

Snow nodded, and Emma set off. Rushing home, she got changed into her signature green getup, pulling the hood up once she was done. It wasn't often that she got to work with her mom, so this was a nice change of pace. Strapping the quiver full of arrows to her back, she felt ready. With her bow in hand, Emma made her way to where her mom stood. She had a similar costume, though hers included a cape, and it was completely white when clean. In Emma's opinion, the white somewhat defeated the purpose of stealth, but Snow insisted that it was a symbol for hope, so she would keep it as such.

"Come on, we should get to higher ground," Snow suggested. Within minutes, they were traipsing through the treetops, keeping quiet but still on the lookout for Greg. That idiot was in so much trouble.

"There!" Emma whispered, pointing to where Greg was currently trying to quickly make his way down the road.

It wasn't that the man was under arrest, but due to the epic fumble in the Dark Kingdom, both he and Neal were under strict supervision and not allowed to leave Storybrooke. This was a breach of his punishment, and very dangerous for their quiet village.

"Come on, we should get closer," Snow said, beckoning Emma to follow her.

Before they could get much closer, they heard a carriage. Looking down, Emma recognized the insignia on the carriage, as if the pure black colour wasn't a dead giveaway.

Shit.

"Stay quiet," Snow quietly stated, heart probably in her throat, much like Emma's was, but for a different reason.

"Shouldn't we try to stop him?"

Snow shook her head. "No, that would only draw attention to ourselves. We just have to hope the Evil Queen won't give him the time of day."

Waiting, they saw a suspenseful scene play out.

When the carriage lurched to a stop, Regina wondered why. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Emma was up to her tricks, but a glance outside revealed a more disappointing truth.

Opening the door to her carriage with a flourish, she sneered down at the man standing by her horses, two guards surrounding him with their swords out. "I know you..."

"Y-your majesty! I come to plead you for asylum, in exchange for very valuable information." The man, Regina was sure his name was Greg from what she recalled Emma had said, was pitifully fiddling with the hem of his shirt, eyeing the swords pointed at him.

"And why should I care about any information you have to give me?" Regina asked in a cool voice.

"It's about Snow White! I-I have information on Snow White," he blurted.

This certainly changed things. Assuming he was telling the truth. "Snow White? And how could you know anything about Snow White?"

Greg was nodding furiously. "B-because I've been living in her village! I can tell you everything I know. Where the village is, facts about her life. Just please, I need asylum."

Regina frowned, her mind whirring. This man knew Emma, they worked together because they were in the same troupe of thieves and therefore were living in the same vicinity. And if he lived in the same village as Snow, did that mean Emma did too? Had Emma been lying to her? Her anger began to mount as she hissed, "I will give you no asylum, you pitiful man, until I have proof that your information is legitimate. Why do you need asylum, and why are you so willing to sell her out?"

Greg explained that he was being punished for getting caught while visiting the Dark Kingdom, and that he was tired of this life. "I don't know how to prove it to you, but all my information is real."

"You're telling me that little Snow White is leading an entire village composed of thieves?" Regina scoffed. "You're going to need more information than that to make me believe you."

The man tried to wildly think up of what to say. "She married that guy, Charming!"

"Inconsequential. That insipid man was already with Snow. To hear he married her is hardly surprising," Regina spat, growing tired. She gave a silent command with her hand to do off with this nuisance.

"She had a child!" Greg tried, sounding desperate as the guards advanced on him.

At that, Regina raised her hand to stop the guards. They heeded her order, and she approached ever so slowly, her hyper senses noting that she had company above in the treetops. "A child? Do tell."

Emma was sure that her heart would leap out of her mouth in a moment. She was gripping the branch she was on so tightly, it was probably in danger of snapping in half. This was very bad indeed.

"We have to stop him from talking even more," Emma whispered, panicked.

Snow shook her head. "If she finds us, we'll be in a lot more danger. It was inevitable that she would find out about you. We'll just have to be careful a bit more. Now keep quiet, otherwise she'll notice we're here."

Unfortunately for them, they were so entranced with the scene below, they didn't notice the magicked branches slowly coiling around them, not touching their bodies, but close enough that, with a tug, it would snap around them and immobilize them.

Below, Greg was nodding, sounding relieved that he was getting another chance, and that the Evil Queen seemed interested. "Yeah! She had a daughter."

Regina could barely try to imagine how absolutely dense a child Snow birthed, with Charming's genes, could be. "And how old is the young one? 6? 7 years old? Has she already been corrupted into a Charming and swearing vengeance on those who wronged her parents?"

Greg was shaking his head, and Emma had half a mind to jump down and tackle him herself. "No! Actually, she was cursed, she's an adult now. Her name is Emma, she danced with you!"

Simultaneously, a few things happened. Snow had whipped around to stare at Emma in pure confusion. The branches had been activated to coil tightly, making them exclaim in surprise, which drew Regina's attention away from Greg, and her currently shocked state, to pull the intruders down.

"Well, well, well!" the trip down had lowered both mother and daughter's hoods, allowing Regina to glance at them side by side. "It seems like this is my lucky day! Fresh information on Snow White and her brood, and then I get the two of you handed to me! It's been such a long while, dear Snow. And this is your daughter! How...absolutely surprising."

Emma refused to look at Regina, but had little choice when Regina stepped forward, gripped Emma's chin and forced her to look. The hold wasn't harsh, but it lacked the gentleness that Regina usually reserved for her. Then again, she looked furious, though Emma could note that there was hurt in her eyes. She felt betrayed. "Yes, I can see the similarities."

"Let her go, please Regina, your problem is with me, leave her alone!" Snow tried to plead.

"You? Oh dear, I've long gotten over all of that," Regina responded, her eyes not leaving Emma's.

"But...you've been asking-" Snow began to say.

Finally breaking eye contact, Regina lowered her right hand to Emma's left shoulder, coming to stand behind the thief, pressing her body to Emma's, only the wound branch between them. "I've been asking because I was under the impression you would try to steal my throne back, maybe perhaps even try to take away my happiness and those I held dear. I was told by a good source," here Regina subtly rubbed her thumb on Emma's shoulder, leaving no doubt to the two women as to who she was referring to, while still leaving Snow in the dark, "that you had nothing planned. At hearing you had a child, I wondered if your spawn was planning on eventually continuing where you left off, and here I find that she's an adult! And a competent one too. Tricks and lies just like you do, dear Snow."

"Please Regina," Snow once more pleaded, eyes watering.

Regina's cold smirk grew. "Oh no, no pleading, Snow."

With that, she waved her hand to make her guards and carriage disappear, returning them to her stables. Glaring at Greg, she said, "Consider yourself lucky. Your information grants you the opportunity to live another day, so scram."

Greg didn't need to be told twice, scrambling away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Please Regina, you can't be this heartless. I will do anything!" Snow cried, struggling.

"You have nothing that I want. But I am going to have a little chat with your daughter, so do excuse us."

The last thing Emma saw before the smoke consumed her, was her mother's heartbroken expression as she wailed in agony.

Muahahhaha, oh you guys must hate me.

Would a double update make everyone happier?

If so, expect a continuation in a few days! Otherwise, I'll be updating Equals, followed by In Sickness and In Health!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter!