I'm sorry I haven't answered - both PM and reviews. I'm an asshole (a busy asshole :/)
Anyway, thanks for everything!
They rode towards the Swan Castle as soon as the first beams of the sun colored the land. Mulan and Ruby stayed behind, promising Emma they would arrive later in the day because they needed to do the daily farm work before leaving.
The trip was done in companionable silence. Victor and Jefferson left Emma alone with her thoughts.
"David didn't want to invite her," Jefferson had explained after dinner, before they retired for the night, "But wars have been started for less, such as not inviting a royal to a celebration like this."
Emma highly doubted that the Mills would have started a war if Regina weren't invited. But, then again, she was Snow White's cousin. And, even though David and Snow loved each other, their marriage was a lucrative business transaction for the Mills. And, even though the Swan didn't do arranged marriages, she had to admit that this time, it was profitable for the Swans as well.
It was not as if she was unhappy to see that David got to marry the girl of his dreams. If there was someone who deserved love and happiness in his life, it was David. And, she could see how much love and happiness Snow brought to his life. But, it was so damn unfair that she got beat up for wanting the same.
As they rode past the gates, Emma tightened her fists around her reins. She didn't know if she was feeling up to see Regina again.
"The Mills family was placed in the west wing of the castle," Jefferson said and he gave her a weak smile. The thought 'the farthest place from your room' was all over Jefferson's face.
"I wasn't planning on leaving my room until Mulan and Ruby arrived," the blonde replied as they hopped down from their horses.
"Are you kidding me?" Victor asked, interrupting the conversation, "Emma, you have never been like this. You can't let this... set back... change you." He shook his head, "You are Emma Swan, the greatest warrior and most loyal knight of the kingdom. You are brave and strong, and you will not hide away in your room."
Emma rolled her eyes at him, but she knew he had a point. "Fine."
The Swan Castle was already decorated for the wedding when they arrived. Had David married anyone else but a Mills, Emma would have stopped to admire and even enjoy the décor. But every bouquet, ornament, and bauble reminded her of what David, not Emma, was getting, marrying his love from the enemy kingdom.
"I trust you remember the way to your chambers?" Victor teased her as they walked down the main hallway and towards a staircase.
The blonde raised an eyebrow, "I also remember how to get to the arena. Are you up for a jousting game?" She enjoyed jousting with Victor for he was the best opponent.
"You mean, are you ready to eat dirt?" Victor winked at her.
"See you in twenty!" Emma yelled, already running up the stairs and towards her room.
It felt so good, yet so weird, to be back at the castle. She was stopped a couple of times on her way to the room by maids and messengers, who seemed happy to see her. The blonde greeted them politely and asked about their families and close friends. She always took pride on knowing all of the castle's staff's names and bits of their lives.
However, the person waiting for her in front of her door was not someone Emma wanted to see or talk to. The blonde stopped dead on her tracks when she saw who was patiently waiting for her. She considered turning around and walking away, but Regina looked disheveled, and it made Emma wonder just how long had her guest been waiting there.
"Emma -,"
The knight raised a hand to silence the soon-to-be Queen. "Just don't."
"Please, let me explain!"
"What do you want to explain? Why did one of your cousins whip me and leave me to die on my horse? Why did your mother give me back the stone I gave you?"
"Yes, I want to explain all of it,"
"Well, I don't want to hear it," Emma snapped, "Last time I decided to listen to you, I almost died." She took a deep breath, controlling her feelings before continuing, "You are like quicksand, Regina. When people fall into you, they try to get out. Yet, the more they try, the deeper they get. Until you drown them, take the air out of them." Emma said to Regina, "You drowned me, Regina. Stay the hell away from me."
"Emma, please," she begged, and it was so unlike Regina to beg.
Emma clenched and unclenched her fists. She knew she had to set some distance between her and Regina or else she'd fall for the brunette again. And this time, she didn't know if she could survive the heartbreak.
"I need to change for a jousting match," she walked into her room and didn't look over her shoulder, knowing that she would she would break down in front of Regina.
But, had she turned around, she would have seen a broken queen.
The knight leaned against the door and let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to hear Regina's explanations, because the naive part of her wanted it all to be a misunderstanding. But it wasn't; she knew of Regina's reputation before she fell in love with the brunette. She knew what Regina did to her lovers: she destroyed them.
A single tear ran down her cheek when she realized that if there was someone to blame for this, it was herself. She had opened her heart to a woman who she knew couldn't love anyone back.
The blonde shook her head and wiped her cheeks. She'd heal, in time. For now, she only needed to keep her head and heart distracted. The only available distraction was waiting for her at the arena. This form of entertainment would never burn her. It was the rush she felt when she was in a jousting match against someone.
So she changed into her jousting equipment and jogged towards the arena, where Victor was already waiting for her with their horses. If she took longer than the time they had set, he didn't comment on it. He simply handled her the reins to her horse and asked if she was ready to get her ass kicked.
They spent the rest of the afternoon making attempts to unhorse each other with the blunted lances. It was not until Mulan came to the arena to greet Emma that they decided to call it even and go to have an early dinner.
Emma spent the next day running away from her duties as David's best man. It was not that she didn't appreciate being chosen by the future king to be his best man, but she found the rehearsals dull and uninteresting. Instead, she decided to go with Victor to the local pub to get drunk with the townspeople.
It was not uncommon for Emma to go drinking with the folks; she enjoyed being surrounded by her people. They all seemed happy to see her again. Some of them asked where she had been for the past months, but most of them knew better and steered the conversation to safer topics, such as the upcoming war.
The two Swans returned to the castle past midnight and were completely wasted. In fact, if they didn't support each other as they walked back, they wouldn't have made it to the stables. There, they had no choice but to purge the alcohol from their stomachs.
"Gods, I'm never drinking again," Emma grunted after cleaning her mouth from vomit residue with the water for the horses.
Victor laughed loudly, "If I'd have one gold coin every time you said that, I would be richer than the king!"
"You'd spend it all on women."
"You wouldn't just because you get it for free," Victor pointed out, "Did you see how Marietta was looking at you?"
Emma shook her head. She did notice how the black haired beauty behaved that night, but after having had a taste what making love felt like, she was not interested on having meaningless sex anymore.
"I'm heading to bed. Not only will I be sore from the falls from the jousting, but also, I'll have a killer headache. Thank you for that," she growled as they walked towards the castle.
"I didn't force you do to anything," Victor raised his hands on the air. "Besides, you act as if I won't be in the same position come tomorrow morning," he pointed out.
Emma stopped and placed her hand on his forearm, "That does make me feel better."
"You're an asshole," he commented and Emma shrugged but smiled at him, "I missed you."
That night, Emma went to bed with a huge smile on her face. It was good to be home.