Chapter 5:
"Okay, so here's how it is mum. I overheard you arguing with dad about arranging a marriage to Queen Ella and King Thomas's son to fix the financial issues in the Light Kingdom. I don't want to get married to someone I have never met. I am already in love with Regina. so please don't force me marry someone against my will." Pleaded Emma.
"Emma sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. Not everyone gets to have true love. Others have to settle for contentment. But those born into royalty have a duty to their people. Your duty is to help our kingdom not go into ruins over money." Replied Snow, completely ignoring the fact that Emma had confessed to being in love with her former step-mother.
"Snow, surely you and your kingdom advisors can figure out a way for your kingdom to gain funds without resorting to selling your daughter and only child of to the highest bidder. Did you not learn anything from what you know about how I became the wife of your late father?" probed Regina.
"You are right…" sighed Snow, "do you know of another way to get more money to keep the kingdom running?" probed Snow looking in Regina's direction.
"I do, you could hold a fair and charge admission and have a stall that allows your more regular citizens to gain access to yourself or Charming so that they can air their grievances. Or you could raise the tax rates, organise jousting tournaments and charge admission for all citizens to be able to watch it. there are many different ways you can raise funds. Any of those suggestions will be beneficial." Explained Regina, as she took Emma's hand in hers and interlaced their fingers giving them a slight squeeze.
"I will talk to Charming about your suggestions and will see what we decide. Emma please come home with me now." Responded Snow. She had begun to get up from her seat but the look Regina gave her pause enough to stay seated.
"Snow, I would like to get your permission to marry your daughter. I have already asked Emma and she has said yes to marrying me all we need now is your blessing." Beseeched Regina as she hoped that the other monarch would be open to the idea of her being able to spend the rest of her life to be with Emma. That she would be able to make Emma happy. That Emma makes her happy.
Snow looked at both her daughter then at Regina, and she finally saw the love they shared for each other was more then just that of the bonds of friendship. "Yes I give you my blessing. We will need to talk more about it with your father as well so we can start the preparations and plans for your wedding, he is going to be so very happy for you Emma. He had a feeling that the two of you were forming a true bond ever since your seventeenth birthday and he saw the two of you dancing. I will go back home to the light castle, I love you both I truly do." As Snow was saying the last sentence she gave a kiss to both Emma and Regina's foreheads and from each kiss a bright light erupted from it. bathing the three of them in a warm and loving light.
Then Snow left for the Light Kingdom while Regina helped Emma get settled into the Dark Castle. Emma, Regina, Zelena, Mulan and Belle began to all get to know each well and Mulan took it upon herself to better train Emma with her sword. For if she was going to marry her Queen Regina then Emma needed to be able to defend not only with her magic but be stronger in her skills as a knight. Emma agreed to become Mulan's trainee, while Regina and Zelena taught Emma and Belle how to control their magic. And taught them new spells, potions and enchantments.
Regina and Emma still continued to have their dates, which both women thoroughly enjoyed. Like the one time they attended one of the new festivals that the Light kingdom held to raise money to keep the kingdom running. There was this game stall that had many moving targets. The ones participating in the game where given a compact bow and ten arrows. The players who hit the most targets within the time given won a prize. So Emma challenged her mother to the contest and surprisingly Emma won it fair and square. She then gave the prize to Regina who had loved watching Emma shoot the arrows at all ten of the targets while Snow only managed to get seven of the targets. Seeing her former step daughter get bested in her strongest of fighting apparatuses was a guilty pleasure.
One another of those dates Regina and Emma came across the abandoned castle of the dark one's they decided to explore the castle for a while. It felt romantic when they clutched to each other when dodging one of the many booby traps Rumple had left scattered around the castle. It was when they found the room that held some of Rumple's most prized treasures they found that it was sealed with blood magic. But what was the most curious for them was that it wasn't Rumple's blood that was needed to unlock the seal. "Why would this room be sealed with my bloodline Regina? What is the point in that? Did the dark one expect for me to one day find this room or maybe my parents?" Quired Emma, her confusion clear on her face.
"I have not a clue dear, I sent Rumple of to the land without magic years ago with a rather complicated spell on an object from that land, a magic bean that was enchanted to take him to some random rainforest on one of the more remote kingdoms in that realm. At least that is what the Genie told me when he found the object. So my suspicions though is someone connected to your family was the one to set this up." Retorted Regina as she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist to hold her close to her body.
"Well there is only one way to find out who is behind this…" countered Emma as she pulled out one of the smaller blades that Mulan had given Emma to help protect her and Regina when they went out on one of their adventurous dates. She then cut a small slice across the meaty part of her palm underneath her thumb of her left hand. She winced at the slight pinching feeling as the blood pooled at the edges of the cut. Emma then held her bleeding hand out to the invisible barrier that prevented them from being able to touch the handle on the door to the room they wanted to explore.
The barrier shimmered briefly before falling down completely. They opened the door and walked through. There they found countless Knick knacks, some old fairy wands and certain objects that only a witch or dark fairy that was knowledgeable of dark magic would know what was contained inside. A softly thudding heart. Regina had no idea who's heart it was but for some strange reason Emma was drawn to it. like the box's contents would be the key to Regina and Zelena's happiness. So Emma carefully opened the box to find an almost completely darkened heart. It shocked Regina and Emma to the core at just how dark the person who owned it must have become for it to barely have a single red glow to it.
Emma then gently placed the heart into one of her soft satchel pouches that she kept in the inner pockets of her riding jacket. They continued to walk around the room examining the various objects, until they felt the presence of a certain fairy that both Emma and Regina disliked for one reason or another. "Look what the cat dragged in…the saviour and the Evil Queen hand in hand. Whatever could the couple prophesied to destroy me could be doing in my new castle?" taunted Blue as she came down to stand in her human form in front of them. An eerie yet menacing look upon her face.
"Your new castle you say? Why would the leader of the fairies need with an abandoned castle? Hmmm, I wonder if it is because you miss your nephew Rumplestiltskin?" taunted Regina with just a hint of her old evil queen side, coming out in her voice.
"How dare you talk to me that way!" was all Blue could manage to say with her anger starting to get the best of her sparks flew out of the end of her wand hitting a shocked Emma. So shocked that she wasn't fast enough to erect a defensive shield. Seeing Emma get hurt had Regina's anger flare up so she sent a fire ball at Blue who quickly transformed back into her pixie form to avoid getting hit by the flames. She flew out of the room and headed to where Cora was currently held up.
Emma in the heat of the moment of seeing Regina throw the fire ball at the fairy leapt into Regina's arms and kissed her with a wild abandon. Then breaking the kiss in order to catch her breath. "Thank you for defending me, you are my hero." Said Emma in a teasing manner as she planted a few chaste kisses on Regina's cheeks, chin and nose. Much to Regina's amusement. They then left the castle not wanting to run into Blue once more so soon. Regina teleported them to where they had tied their horses up and they went for a leisurely ride through the forests along the way back towards the Dark Kingdom castle.
When they finally made it back to Regina's castle, it was to find Red and Dorothy waiting for them in the sitting room. Where Zelena was currently trying her best to entertain them. While Mulan watched over the scene trying and failing to hold back on her chuckles. As the couple was great at spouting witty banter matching toe to toe with the red headed witch. It seems that Dorothy and Zelena were well on their way to making amends with each other. It was a slow process but both women were trying their best to appease both Red and Emma. Zelena wanted to appease Emma because she knew it would make her sister happy. Something she wanted to desperately make sure her younger half-sister knew she did. As their own tentative relationship was getting closer to becoming the sisterly bond she had always secretly wanted her entire life growing up in Oz.
"Red! Dorothy! You both made it!" exclaimed an overly excited Emma her girlish charm making Regina smile so brightly it almost blinded everyone in the room. Zelena and Regina took a seat on one of the love seats near the warm fire in the middle of the room while Red, Dorothy and Emma sat on the larger lounge next to it opposite the fire.
"I have missed you Emma, I hope you have been keeping up with your magical training now that you don't have the lessons with either Blue or Dorothy and I." said Red with a jovial tone of voice and playful manner as she hugged the wiry blonde.
"Regina and Zelena have been making sure I learn how to better handle my magic and Mulan has been helping me hone my skills as a knight so I don't get rusty. Oh! Did you hear about Regina's and I's engagement?"
"Yes your mother told us she gave the two of you her blessing. When your dad heard the news he was like a happy little boy experiencing his first yuletide festival. I must say I am very happy for you in finding someone to love you for you and not just because you are the princess or the saviour. I came here because it is about time you and Regina were told about the prophesy that revolves around the two of you and to finally enlighten Regina as to why the curse backfired on her." Explained Red her tone of voice becoming more serious with every syllable.
"Regina, Zelena you should both hear what Red tells me she has to say." Called Emma getting the sister's attention. Regina, Zelena, Emma and Dorothy turned their attentions towards the lanky wolf. Eager to hear what she had to say.
"Right, so Regina you remember how the dark curse backfired on you again on the night that Emma was born?" when Regina gave her an one eyebrow lifted look Red continued on with her story. "well the reason for that happening was because I was given a fairy dust infused with the chanted spell containing a part of the prophesy that said: "Instead of darkness bring light, Instead of hate bring only love,
Instead of chaos bring order. In this hour of desperation, I alter this dark curse.
The castor of this curse shall not harm the saviour, The castor will falter and remember the prophesy…A dark queen will find the saviour, watch her grow,
On the saviour's eighteenth birthday they will join.
And all kingdoms shall find peace." Explained Red, as she looked around her at the rapt faces contemplating what she had just said.
Regina broke the silence first, "so you are telling me that some fairy out there had you chant that spell that is technically an excerpt of the prophesy was the reason I turned back into an eighteen year old? Is it the reason for me loving Emma? I have no choice in it? does Emma even get a choice in who she gets to love?" ranted Regina clearly getting agitated by the new revelations.
"Yes to the part about the consequences of the curse backfiring and that I was the one who said the chant. But no to the other questions. The part about you and Emma falling in love with each other has been long in the works for many centuries something the sorcerer put in motion as his life partner Nimue was the one who foresaw the prophesy as she was gifted with the power of foresight from the three fates themselves, Nimue is a descendent of the fated sisters. So when Nimue drank from the goblet of life after Merlin the sorcerer did she was granted the gift then. As it unlocked the dormant powers alongside giving her and him the gift of immortality.
The two of you are fated to be the truest of true loves. The ones to save each other. And to save everyone else in this realm, the full prophesy also includes the first born child of your union being the one to defeat Blue's sister Fiona the Black Fairy, who just so happens to be the mother of Rumplestiltskin. when your first born child who will be a product of true love and have the heart of the truest believer turns fifteen years of age the black fairy will target him as being her downfall. She will probably come after the two of you but I can't be certain of that, all I do know is that you and Emma will be the ones to defeat Blue, as the powers she uses as a fairy has been corrupted she has gone dark and evil." Explained Red, as she took a sip of her now luke warm tea.
"That is a lot to take in, can we just leave it for another time for now and just enjoy the time we have together? I so need your help in planning Regina's and I's wedding. Is that okay with you Regina?" responded Emma turning towards Regina in that last part.
"Yes my love that would be for the best…" answered a distracted Regina who then got up of the love seat and teleported herself of to her library study where Belle and Mulan were taking some time to be alone together when they aren't fulfilling their duties in the castle. Regina ignored the two lovebirds and sat down in one of her leather armchairs near the small bar where she kept a decanter of her home made hard cider. She poured herself a glass of the cider and leant back into the chair. Taking a large gulp of her drink before conjuring one of her books about the history of Merlin and Nimue and their book of prophesies.
While Emma. Red and Dorothy got together and began the planning for Regina and Emma's wedding. They later joined together with Regina, Mulan and Belle in the large dining room for dinner which was rather interesting as Regina had gotten very drunk on her cider. She had become rather flirty and frisky with Emma much to the amusement of Zelena and the rest of their dinner guests.