Again, I must apologize for the delay! No excuse, really, just that things have been influx in my life and the inspiration for continuing the story has been a bit fleeting. But don't worry, continue I will!

The sight they met as they picked there way to the edge of the forest, remaining just beyond the line of trees so as to stay hidden from plain view, was not a welcome one. They heard the disconcerting metallic clanking of sword on sword even before the scene before the front gate of the castle came into view, and Snow had spurred her horse to a quicker trot as her anxiety rose. She felt Emma's clasp around her waste from behind her tighten and heard her hiccup a sharp breath, but she said nothing of the additional pain the increased pace was clearly causing her. As the trees disintegrated in front of them, opening onto a large meadow bathed in the afternoon sun, what they saw confirmed their fears that the battle had begun.

Wave after wave of arrows came shooting down at the forces Charming and Snow had gathered from Regina's men. On the ground, a large legion of soldiers was already marching forward from the gate, Charming and Hook on horses leading the charge to meet them. Already the battle had seen its first casualties as a few men littered the ground with arrows in their chests. It would have felt to Emma like she'd stepped into a movie if the distant sounds of pain and metal clanging weren't so real and terrifying.

"I'll do what I can," Neal offered brusquely, and without waiting for a response, he spurred his horse forward at a strong cantor, drawing his blade from his side. As Emma watched him handle the horse with ease, growing smaller the farther he rode into the distance, she marveled in her bleary mind at how the two of them could have been once so close as they were, and she had known none of this life he had lived before. If she weren't so completely worn through, bleeding both outside and in, she would have been impressed. Instead, she leaned wearily still further into her mother in front of her, her strength beginning to fail.

"I'm going too," Snow said stubbornly.

"You're what?" Regina barked.

"Here, you take Emma," Snow said, dismounting her horse and reaching up to pull her half-limp daughter down as well. Emma obeyed the pressure without thinking much. She was only half present. "You're the faster rider, anyway. Take her as fast asyou can to where Henry's waiting…"

"You brought Henry with you?" Emma mumbled, mustering all the disappointed concern she could as she choked out the words.

"You have his father to thank for that," Regina told her as from atop her horse she reached for Emma's arm and in an effort the three of them got her seated securely on the back of the queen's horse.

"As soon as you get her out of the range of the castle, then you can finish it. You can finish it, can't you?" she prodded skeptically, as she remounted her own horse.

"I can finish it," Regina told her with confidence blazing in her voice.

"But not until Emma is safely out of the way," Snow reminded her.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to your precious daughter," Regina said, rolling her eyes.

Snow shot her a dangerous look before she dug her heels into the side of mare, which bayed and bolted forward. She continued to egg her on still fasted as she raced over the grasslands to her husband's side. While the king's men had driven a number of the queen's forces back, Charming had stood his ground until he was all but surrounded on all sides by a thick layer of soldiers going in for the attack. Snow's heartbeat quickened as she goaded her horse on still faster. She jumped the stream and readied herself in her saddle as she approached the fray, not bothering to slow down.

Her horse rode straight into the men around her husband at top speed. Some of them were quick enough to back out of the way. Still others found themselves trampled under her hooves. Snow paid them no mind. She only had thoughts for the blonde prince battling in the center.

"Charming!" she called out sharply and instinctively he reached up his hand and she caught it, swinging herself down to his side. She landed firmly with her feet wideset and grounded and faced the oncoming siege, her back pressed up against that of her husband.

With their true love at each other's back, for a moment the pair froze, absorbing energy and strength from one another. As they faced the circle of soldiers that beset them, they could not see each other, but they felt the power of each other's love and presence, and it meant all the difference. When the soldiers lunged forward to continue the attack, Snow and Charming sliced through them one by one with a venomous expertise, and an unbreakable power drawn from parental and romantic love that all but consumed them.

The soldiers fell one by one as the Charmings swiveled in a deadly circle, moving as one unit. Some on the edges began to fall back and falter in fear, but there were still plenty to be getting on with and Snow's energy was already drained to begin with. The burst of adrenaline at seeing that the fight had broken out, at seeing that her husband was in danger, could only last her so long. As she just barely dodged a blade coming her way so that it nicked her cheek before she dealt a lethal swipe to the sword's wielder, she found herself hissing impatiently:

"Anytime, now, Regina!"

It did not take long for Regina to pick her way along the border of the forest, just enough to keep hidden from sight. Emma barely noticed the ride in her stupor, though she did sense an extreme ease with Regina on the horse that she almost took for granted. If she had had the energy, she might have been more skeptical to be sitting astride a large beast with the woman who had tried to kill her multiple times and had taken her son from her, but she was too busy trying to maintain her consciousness to worry too much about that.

But it was not long before she heard a high pitched sound that, anywhere, anytime, would always send her heart racing and bring her back to her senses: the voice of her son.

"Mom!" he cried out, standing from where he sat with his back against a tree. He rushed to her as Regina halted the horse, dismounted, and helped to pull her off. She immediately buckled to her knees and wrapped him in her arms, cupping the back of his head with her hand as he squeezed her back.

"Henry," she breathed, not entirely able to keep her voice from cracking. "Thank God you're safe."

"What happened, are you ok?" he asked, his face wrought with concern as he pulled away and looked at her bloodied, bruised form, wincing. "You look hurt!"

But Emma just pulled him back into an embrace, so grateful to have him in her arms again.

"I'm fine kid, I'll be fine," she discarded. "God, I missed you." From over her shoulder, Henry blinked up at Regina as she returned from where she had tied her horse up.

"Thank you," Henry breathed, clinging so tightly to Emma she thought she might pass out. He was looking up at Regina. "Thank you for helping us. Thank you for saving her."

"It's not over yet," Regina mumbled bitterly as she turned to face the battle waging in front of them. Emma and Henry's glances mimicked hers, Emma pulling herself to her feet with a huge effort.

Snow continued to charge towards a discouraging scene in the distance. Emma saw arrows flying from the castle walls while large numbers of men continued to attack her family and friends. Neal had already made it to the fray and was slicing at everyone of the king's men he could get his hands on, while Snow was direct-lining towards her completely beset husband at top speed.

"Who taught her to ride a horse like that?" Emma mused blearily as she watched her mother vault the stream and charge towards the battle. She wasn't even aware she had spoken the question out loud until it was answered quietly from beside her.

"I did," Regina said, watching the pale brunette as she finally collided with the scene, swinging herself into the middle with her husband. Emma glanced up at her dark, brooding face. While she had been more than happy to think of Regina as the evil queen, she had somehow forgotten the fact that meant that she was Snow's step-mother. No version of the Snow White story she knew ever went into the back story of how the queen met Snow's father in the first place, or what their relationship was like while the princess was growing up. As she watched Regina watching Snow, she saw such a troubled and confused expression there as Regina remembered all those riding lessons. How much it had torn her apart to watch the girl who was the reason for her Daniel's death get such pleasure out of a pastime she herself enjoyed. A pastime that reminded her so much of him. The stable boy. She couldn't look at a horse without thinking of him, and it made every ride bittersweet. Snow had taken to horse-riding with Regina as her tutor, and on some level that pleased her. On another, it made her want to be physically ill. It was so very confusing.

Emma turned her attention back to the battle from where she stood hidden at the opening of the woods. If she had any strength in her body, she would have gone out and helped her parents battle, but as it was such was resigned to watch. It was all she could do to stand straight, and even that required heavy support from her twelve-year-old son at her side who didn't seem to want to ever let her go again. She winced as she watched her parents battling expertly with their back to each other as they kept wave after wave of advancing men at bay.

"You going to do something to help them?" Emma asked Regina, looking quizzically at her as she remembered what her mother had told her of the plan. "Because if so I think now would be a pretty good time."

"You'd think after what you've been through the past few days you'd have a little more respect for the kind of energy it takes to perform magic," Regina retorted, not looking at Emma as she continued to stare hard at the scene in front of her, but Emma could see her scowling at her insolence nonetheless. "Especially magic like this. Hold your horses, I'm working on it."

Now that Emma looked at her more carefully, she saw the signs of someone concentrating hard and felt a bit ashamed at her quip. She resigned herself to watching in silence as Regina seemed to grow more and more consumed with the effort the curse was costing her. Very suddenly, the clouds grew darker, nearly black. They began to weave and swirl as they drew the attention of those fighting in the distance to the utterly transformed sky. A few bright bolts of lightening struck from the new, angry clouds, followed by loud claps of thunder. The soldiers seemed to freeze in fear of what they didn't understand as the sudden change in weather intensified. Then from among the dark clouds sprouted a tornado, which extended quickly and met the ground. At that, some of them began to run.

The twister swirled its way around the battlefield, magically striking at all of King George's men while avoiding Charming, Snow, Neal, Hook and the others. It was over in a matter of minutes, the enemy completely wiped out and what was left of the Charming forces panting gratefully in their moment of relief. As Emma squinted, she saw her mother and father share a brief but passionate kiss before they turned and sped for the door to the castle, arms still drawn.

But even before the door was shut, Emma felt it. The searing pain she had become so familiar with, yet regardless of the frequency with which she felt it, the sudden shock it always came with was surprise enough. She let out an involuntary cry, her body wrenched back against the trunk of the tree behind her.

"Mom!" Henry cried concernedly, coming up beside her, "are you ok?"

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, turning sharply as well as the sound from Emma. She did not exude any kind of sympathy, but more an uncertain concern. "What is it?"

"It's him," Emma was able to choked out in a whisper.

"Who?" Regina asked taking a step forward, but before she could take another, a second voice answered. The rough voice of a man as King George appeared suddenly behind them, causing the queen to reel around in shock.

"Me."

There are only two chapters left! Next up is the climax of the whole story. Will Regina be able to save Emma from King George if in battling him with magic she will only be waging a war on an already-depleted Emma? We shall see.