"Mulan's already left on patrol," Aurora said when Emma arrived at her door. "They left just after breakfast."

Emma nodded. She'd seen Ruby off that morning and made her promise to be careful in case Maleficent came back.

"Actually, I was looking for you."

"Oh?" Aurora tilted her head, curious. "What can I do for you, Princess?"

"Are you going to curtsy too?"

"I can if you'd like." Aurora's little smile suggested she knew exactly how to curtsy.

"Please don't." Emma looked past Aurora to the empty room behind her. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Aurora moved aside and allowed Emma in.

It was a smaller room than Emma and Regina's, but still beautifully constructed. The stonework had been intricately carved with griffins and lions and there were hooks for tapestries, if they ever had any again. Mulan's things were on the bench by the window, and it seemed Aurora had the other side of the room. Phillip had been bunking in the barracks, with many of the soldiers, guards and hunters. He and Aurora were some of the least pretentious royalty Emma had met, and that comforted her. Not everyone had to curtsy to her. The double bed in the middle of the room had been made neatly. Emma wondered if those were military corners, or if Aurora was a rare princess who could make her own bed. Regina insisted on it, and Emma was starting to get the corners of the sheets the way Regina liked them, but it was an ongoing struggle. Regina was still in it this morning, so she was safe.

"How's Regina?"

"Resting but complaining about it, so she's probably fine."

"Mulan said her injuries were quite serious."

"Maleficent dropped a tree on her."

Aurora's wry smile grew. "Mulan told that Regina selflessly protected her from the witch. She would not speak praise without cause."

"Mulan and Phillip were very helpful getting her back."

"You've thanked them."

Emma sighed and shook her head. "Did I thank them enough?"

Aurora offered her a chair and down across from her. "Yes. Ruling is difficult for you, isn't it?"

"I didn't exactly grow up being a princess."

"You were always a princess, perhaps your other identity is the one that was forced upon you."

Emma blinked, trying to take that in. She'd been no one, now she was the centre of everything. "How do you do it?"

"My kingdom is in ruins, what's left of it after the Dark Curse and Cora's evil is controlled by Maleficent from her fortress in the Forbidden Mountains. Few of my people remain alive and it is doubtful any of them are free." Aurora folded her hands in her lap. "I am fortunate that Phillip and Mulan are safe and that we have found sanctuary in your castle. Perhaps, someday, when this kingdom is strong again, Phillip and I will return to ours."

Emma almost wanted to hug her, but hugs didn't seem to be a royalty thing. "I'm sorry."

"Kingdoms rise and fall. I had hoped Phillip and I would rule together, and we may yet. We survived the curse, Cora and the wraith."

"All things are possible," Emma said, thinking of the seer who'd helped her believe in herself. "If there's anything I can do."

"Do not fret, Emma. If I can, I will save my kingdom. Until I do, I will help yours to grow strong, however I can."

There was the regal selflessness Emma struggled so with. She didn't mind doing the princess thing, but she never knew what she was supposed to do. When she was sheriff, she'd had laws to follow, but now her mother was the law and that was a whole new ballgame.

"Thank you."

"It's my pleasure." Aurora's smile held genuine joy. At least they had allies. For all the enemies they kept making, at least they made allies with equal speed. "If you did not come for Mulan, how may I help?"

"I need to know about Maleficent."

Aurora took a breath, holding her gaze level with Emma's. "I'm afraid I know little about her. She's a wicked fairy, not human, and has great power. She may have invented the sleeping curse. She cast it on my mother many years ago, and on me, shortly before the Dark Curse was cast on the realm."

"Your mother beat her?"

"She was able to trick Maleficent and arranged to be rescued by my father, breaking the sleeping curse. Maleficent was furious, and remained in her fortress for most of my life, plotting her revenge. When Phillip and I were to be married, she emerged again, angry that we did not invite her to the betrothal dinner."

"She cursed you over a dinner invite?"

"Royal occasions are the heart of a realm. To not be invited to something that the entire kingdom will celebrate is the highest insult. All were invited to your wedding, were they not?"

Emma hadn't thought about that. She'd been thinking of Regina, not how many people were watching them or that her wedding was a state occasion. "Should we have invited her?"

"No." Aurora's smile softened Emma's worries. "Maleficent is a great power in my kingdom. When she was not invited to my mother's christening, after she had been asked for help in the conception of my mother, she took it as the highest of insults. It set off a feud that continued until the Dark Curse made it irrelevant."

"So your grandparents pissed her off."

"Yes."

"And she wasn't over it?"

"Etiquette may seem foolish, but it's based in history. If we cannot trust our neighbours to follow the rules of society, than how can we trust them to be good neighbours?"

Emma pondered that. She must have missed it in the not-Princess schools she'd attended. "Thanks."

"Maleficent was not always evil. There was much to her history with my grandparents that I do not know. My grandmother would never speak of it, and my grandfather went silent at the mention of her name. My mother suspected many things, but she was never able to tell me of them. I have not seen her since I was struck with the sleeping curse and I fear she must be dead."

Emma reached across and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Aurora patted her hand kindly. "I wish I could be of more help. My mother often wondered if there was a way we could get through to Maleficent, A way to make peace. Perhaps you need not kill her."

"I already did that once."

"If I remember anything more, I will tell you. I would be willing to assist in your negotiations, if I could. Maleficent and I have met before. Perhaps if I came with you, her anger would be divided."

Emma wasn't sure even dividing it between two would be enough, but if it kept Regina safe, she was willing to try anything. "I don't think I dare for awhile. My mother's going on a trip round the kingdom."

"A royal progress."

"That. And I'm-"

"Going to rule in her place."

Emma dropped her gaze to the floor. "Yeah."

"You'll do well."

"Thanks." She tried to sound grateful. Everyone kept telling her it would be fine; that it was only a few weeks, but Emma couldn't even believe it when Regina said that she wouldn't be a complete and utter failure as a ruler.

"Shall we go down to council, your highness?"

Wincing like she always did, Emma waved Aurora before her. She only had four days left before her parents left and she had much to learn before anyone asked her to sit the throne.

"Being reminded you are the princess is hardly a slur."

"It feels fake. I don't really do anything." Emma reminded herself to smile as they passed everyone in the castle corridors. Aurora did it so easily. Why did Emma feel like such an impostor?

"You're helping us plan a plumbing project to cut down on disease and make your kingdom one of the cleanest in the land. You're also trying to bring water to all of your people. Are these not important?"

As much as Emma missed tap water, it was hard to believe that books of translated Roman designs could be made into anything workable for the people. "It looks like a bunch of scribbles to me."

Aurora stopped her and put her hand on the wall. "I have never lived in a castle where water came from the walls nor seen a bath that can be filled without a small army of servants. If these scribbles can do that, then that is surely magic."

Emma had to smile. She still couldn't imagine growing up in a castle where you never flushed a toilet and only bathed once a month because you were rich. She'd had some times when she was filthy and living rough, but it was nothing like what a peasant would spend their whole life in here. Even in a fairy tale world, it was dirty and cold, and the snow was coming. The leaves were already falling and there had been frost in the valleys. There was so much to do and she had to do it. If she didn't, people would die. She had barely trusted herself to be responsible for Henry last year, how could she now take responsibility for the kingdom? Maybe Aurora was right. She'd do it because she had to, because it was her burden that she'd been born too, even if she'd been raised to be someone else, Princess Emma was whom she'd always been meant to be.

Once they were in the council chamber, Emma took her seat at her mother's right hand, took a breath to centre herself and reached for the wooden beads she'd used to learn magic. Maybe if she kept turning them, if she tried to be the princess a hundred times a day, she'd get it.

The little girl brought her food up from the kitchens twice before Regina truly recognised her. She'd tried to argue that she was fine. She'd been healed with magic and she felt completely normal, perhaps slightly lightheaded, but no one listened to her. Emma's eyes still went wide with fear when they spoke of Maleficent. Regina didn't know what to do. She couldn't just sacrifice herself because she had something to lose. She loved too much to give anything up now. She'd never wanted to kill Maleficent, and it had stung to send Emma down to do it. If Henry's life hadn't been at risk, perhaps her friend could have lived.

Lying in bed drove her slowly crazy, and it had only been a day. Emma had fussed all of yesterday and it had been an indulgence to take Emma from her duties and steal another day with her. Emma was back to ruling today, so Regina had been alone most of the morning. It would have been fine if she actually needed to rest, but she didn't.

"Child, remain a moment," she said when the girl arrived with her lunch. Leaving the bed, she put her feet on the floor. When her knees were weak, even shaky, Regina frowned. This was what came from resting.

"Yes, your highness." The girl curtsied low, staring politely at the floor in front of Regina's feet.

"You are called Grace, are you not?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Shouldn't you be with your father?"

The girl didn't speak until Regina crouched down into her field of vision. She even smiled, trying to be less terrifying. She was only in her nightshift, she couldn't be that scary.

"He's here, your highness. He's working for the queen."

What would Snow what with Jefferson and his powers?

"So you live here?"

"I work for the kitchens, your highness. I'm learning to cook."

"I bet you're an excellent cook."

"Thank you, your highness."

She'd gone years without being the queen but plenty of people in Storybrooke had feared her. This ingrained terror was new again, as it had been when she'd been freshly crowned. "Did you make my lunch?"

"The soup, highness. I cut the turnips."

The lack of variety in the Enchanted Forest's vegetables made one truly nostalgic for the supermarket, cursed or not. "I bet it's delicious."

"Thank you, high-"

Regina cut her off with a wave. "One or two 'your highnesses' is enough dear, thank you. I hope you enjoy living in the castle."

"Yes, your-" Grace stopped herself. "Yes."

"You'd better hurry back to the kitchen. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble."

Grace curtsied again, the clumsily adorable motion of a girl who'd grown up in the wilderness, and Regina smiled at her. Jefferson had his daughter back and that brought her some peace.

She'd been brought soup, bread, cheese and an apple. Apples were just out of harvest so they'd be in all her meals for many months. Maybe living without supermarkets would be acceptable, at least until spring when stores were lean and the snow was still melting.

Since no one but servants and Emma would see her, Regina pulled a thick woollen cardigan on over her nightshift that went down to her knees. It wasn't at all regal, but the stone walls of the castle were cool today and it was not yet late enough in the year for a fire. She took her tray of food to the small table and resigned herself to eating alone. She was capable of taking her meals with everyone else in the Great Hall, but perhaps it would be easier to remain apart for a time, while the threat of Maleficent to the kingdom faded from the immediate thoughts of everyone around her. She was neither queen, nor mayor. There was no reason to prove she was unbowed by the threat. Lunch without Emma would be lonely anyway, as only if Ruby or Mulan was there to act as a buffer, would anyone else eat with her.

The knock on her door nearly startled her spoon out of her hand.

"Regina?" The soft voice obviously feared she was asleep.

"Come in." She left her chair, putting her napkin on the seat.

The heavy oak door swung in and Belle's head peered round the door. Relieved that Regina was standing and appeared to be in good health, Belle smiled more brightly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Perhaps the response lacked conviction, but she'd hardly spoken to the young woman since she'd been freed from prison and she'd hardly have the knack for reading through her that Emma did. "I apologise for my state of undress. I wasn't expecting company."

"I can go," Belle said quickly, backing towards the corridor.

"No, no. Please."

"I know we're not really friends, but I heard that you were injured and I thought you might be bored cooped up in bed." Belle held out her hands, revealing the three books in them. "I thought you might like something to read."

"Thank you for your concern." Regina took the books from her and glanced at the titles on their spines. "These are from Rumpelstiltskin's library?"

"He won't mind." Belle answered with the kind of ease that suggested Rumpelstiltskin had his true love back. "He's always been a little fond of you and he's glad you were seriously hurt."

There was one book of defensive magic, most likely a joke from Rumpelstiltskin because he had always found her lack of interest in the defensive arts short-sighted. Another was a book of poetry, something whimsical that Belle must have liked. The last was in an ancient tongue and the lettering was obscure. She'd need a translation spell.

"I'm sorry about the last one," Belle said. "It's a beautiful story, but the only copy we have is in an ancient Saxon tongue. Rumpel assured me you could do a translation spell, but if you're not up to it I'm sure Emma can cast one for you when she gets out of council."

Council meetings dragged on through dinner lately, but it was sweet of Belle to think of her at all, much less know how boring bed rest was.

"Are you on your way now?"

"Yes. We're spending more time on the aqueducts today. The fairies think we might be able to have them running before the snow falls. We'll have to try to build up our stores of water and run many of the pipes underground so they don't freeze solid in the winter." Belle paused, stopping herself from rambling on about plumbing. Apparently she had quite a mind for the planning of cities. Emma was always impressed with what she came up with. "Sorry, plumbing's a little dull to anyone but me and I've been told I ramble."

"I've been alone all morning," Regina said. "You may ramble about whatever you like."

"Alone?"

"Emma had business."

"It's hard being with someone with so much responsibility, isn't it?"

She wouldn't have thought of what Rumpel did as responsibilities, but the conversation was pleasant and it was nice to have company so Regina attempted to be friendly. "Yes, Emma has many duties."

"I think that's why it's ended up being a blessing that I read so much. Rumpel's always working on something and when I read, we can share each other's company without annoying each other."

She would love to be able to sit across the room from Emma while she worked on the endless tasks for kingdom. Sometimes Emma brought scrolls up to their room and read them by candlelight in bed. She missed her contacts and though she could have used magic to make herself glasses, Emma preferred playing with the script on the scroll until it was big enough to read easily. She'd sit in bed and read the large letters until long after Regina was asleep. It wasn't quite the same.

"That sounds lovely." Her own sincerity surprised her. The baby made her sentimental. Conscious that she was only wearing a long sweater over her thin linen shift that revealed the rounding of her belly, Regina pulled her sweater closer. Rumpel would have no claim on her child and Belle was the innocent she seemed, but without Emma at her side it was difficult to speak of the baby to others. Was Belle that observant? Would she say something? If the Blue Fairy knew, perhaps it was already all over the kingdom.

She'd paused too long. Belle shifted her weight, as if she were deciding how best to politely leave without offending Regina.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm taking you from your meal."

"No, no. My mind drifts more lately than it did."

"Considering you're recovering from a head injury, that's entirely normal."

Was there something else behind her smile? Belle seemed too accommodating, too happy to be discussing Regina's concussion.

"You heard about that?"

"Rumpel hears everything."

So she knew about the baby. Belle lived with Rumpelstiltskin ,after all. Perhaps they kept few secrets from each other. Did it really bother Regina if she knew? Belle was harmless and Maleficent's reappearance had just made her uneasy about everything.

"Do you want to eat before it gets cold? I can sit with you for bit, if you'd like."

As much as having anyone watch her eat was a little strange, having the company would be pleasant. Regina nodded and offered the other chair.

"Have you eaten?"

"They've been just bringing out food to the council meetings."

No wonder Emma had been so exhausted. At least eating on the trail was a pleasant break from patrol and the company friendly. Regina doubted anyone in the council meetings had much time to smile or joke.

"How are you really feeling?" Belle asked, leaning closer as if in conspiracy.

That had to be about the baby. She shouldn't have been so surprised by everyone's interest, no one had been able to get pregnant during the curse and no children had been born in Storybrooke until Emma had broken the curse enough for Alexandra to enter the world. Perhaps everyone was excited because this was Emma's child, and everyone adored Emma.

Was she supposed to launch into a long diatribe about the discomforts of pregnancy? What did Belle really want from her?

"Sore."

"I've never been in a battle with a witch, but I imagine it wears on you."

That wasn't it. She had a new kind of soreness, almost as if she'd pulled all the muscles between her chest and pelvis or they were misaligned somehow, and her breasts were a constant source of complaint. Emma adored how round they'd gotten, but they seemed acutely conscious of every movement Regina made and she missed bras.

"Are we still talking about my injuries?"

Belle sat back, almost apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"Did Rumpelstiltskin tell you?"

"When he came home from Qin, he spent an extraordinary amount of time in a section of his library he usually ignores. He has books on everything, even childbirth, and he's never read them. It's not something we talk about so I knew it wasn't about us. I asked him and he told me that Emma had gotten you pregnant."

"He did?"

"I think it's marvellous."

"You do?"

"Of course. There's something fantastic about it. You didn't even know you loved each other, yet it was enough to make life. True love and a baby. What more could you want?"

Regina forced her hands to remain above the table, even though she wanted to protect her child from everything. Belle wasn't a threat, in fact, she seemed genuinely happy, and not just for Emma.

"Why are you being nice to me?"

"Because no one's really a monster. Not even those who go around calling themselves evil and dark."

How did anyone have that much capacity for forgiveness? Regina had locked her up, so had Rumpel, yet she loved the latter and seemed entire capable of forgiving the former.

Regina had to ask. "You believe so?"

"I think we all the capacity for good and evil, and the choices we make are coloured not only by our lives, but how we're perceived. When I stopped seeing Rumpel as a monster, he stopped seeing himself as the monster reflected in my eyes. I know it must be hard for you to be here, surrounded by people who still see the Evil Queen. I'd like to help, if I can. Emma loves you. Mulan and Ruby both speak highly of you. I trust them. They see the real you. If you'll let me, I'd like to know the real you too."

The ease with which Belle spoke surprised Regina. How did one have her heart so open without risking so much pain? Did she not fear it? Had her life been so different that she had no fear?

"You would."

"Yes, I would." Belle extended her hand. "I don't think we've properly met. I'm Belle."

Extending her hand felt foolish, but Regina did it. "Regina."

"There we go. Now we can be friends."

Just like that? It was that easy?

"Thank you." She couldn't think of anything else to say. Dumbstruck, Regina returned Belle's smile as she stood to leave.

"I really have to get to council, but I'll see you soon, all right?"

Was she going to visit again? Did she mean at meals? Rumpel and Belle usually ate separately, though Belle had been with the rest more as she became more involved in the running of the kingdom.

"All right," Regina agreed. She stood, seeing Belle to the door. Belle waited there for a moment, smiling. Regina owed her something. Something personal.

"Wonderful," Regina said, tripping over the word.

"I don't follow."

"You asked me how I really felt." Looking down was safer than looking at Belle, and there was a hint of a curve to her belly, even from her viewpoint. "Sometimes, I can feel the baby move inside of me and it's wonderful. When she does, I can't think of anything else."

In the pause before Belle spoke, Regina rebuked herself. She shouldn't have said anything. That was the kind of thing only Emma would understand. No one wanted to know how happy she was. She was the Evil Queen. She didn't deserve-

"I think that's appropriate. I imagine it would be such a beautiful surprise nothing else could possibly matter in that moment." Belle nodded to her, still smiling. "I'm glad you're feeling better, and that the baby makes you so happy. I'm thrilled for you and Emma, and the kingdom, really. We could use something to hope for."

With that sunny optimism, Belle disappeared down the corridor, leaving Regina with three books and hundreds of questions. How could she want to be friends? Regina had imprisoned her. Confused that Belle was ready to forgive that and start anew, she returned to her lunch and finished in a daze. Maybe Emma could explain when she escaped from council. She hadn't asked to be forgiven, nor had she expected it, but her brief conversation with Belle lightened her heart.

Emma would know.

"Emma?" David asked for her as the council meeting broke up. Emma wanted nothing more than to slip away and check on Regina, especially when she'd been away all day, but her dad wouldn't ask for her without reason.

"Hey."

"Do you have a moment?"

She did, but she wished she could have said no. "Sure."

"I know you want to get back to Regina."

"That obvious?"

"If our positions were reversed, I doubt I would have made it through the end of the meeting."

"You mean I could have left?"

"No, probably not, but I admire your restraint."

Following him down the corridor towards the battlements, Emma reminded herself Regina was fine. Belle had seen her at lunch and said she looked radiant. The way she used that word exactly made Emma realise she knew about the baby. Perhaps she had even talked to Regina about the baby, which was a surprise, but a good one. Maybe Regina would feel more like a part of the community the more she shared with them. The baby was easy anyway, everyone loved babies. Everyone thought they had something to say when you were pregnant. Most of the time Emma hated it, but sometimes, when she was lonely, it had helped to have something to say.

David enjoyed strolling up over the castle there like she did, watching the stars over the dark forest. There were so many stars here that the sky seemed foreign. Stars she didn't know popped up in the middle of the few constellations Emma thought she did know and most of the time she had to guess.

"I wanted to say that I think I know how you feel."

"Okay." Was this a Regina being pregnant thing or a 'an powerful woman's trying to kill you thing'? Which one did she want it to be? Maybe he just wanted to talk, fathers did that, right?

"I grew up with just my mother. My father died when I was young, and after that it was just her and the goats and sheep. I loved farming. It's quiet, you have plenty of time to think and there are routines to it. You get up, milk the goats, take them out, keep them safe, bring them back in. It's simple and in a way I thought that was all I was going to do. I'd inherit the farm some day, fall in love with the blacksmith's daughter, have a small herd of children and maybe buy a cow."

"Seriously?"

"Cows are very expensive."

"You wanted a herd of kids?"

"I wanted company when I was young. It was miles to the next farm and it was kind of lonely. Maybe I was missing James, I don't know. I decided when I was young that I wouldn't have just one child."

Considering that any sibling she had was going to be eleven years younger than her son and probably a year younger than her daughter, Emma grinned at him. "You're a little behind."

"I was a shepherd, I didn't know much about curses and the effect they have on the plans you make for your life." David leaned on the battlements, turning his eyes upwards. "I never asked to take James' place. I didn't want it. King George threatened to kill my mother if I didn't remain his son, marry who he wanted and continue his line."

"Your paths to your happy endings are pretty brutal."

"They are, aren't they?"

"So you agreed to marry Kathryn- Abigail."

"I met your mother on my way to the wedding. She stole my jewels-"

"And you fought with trolls." Emma put her elbows on the wall, mirroring her father. "I read that story. You two were cute."

"Thank you."

"That doesn't mean I've forgotten what you were doing in the apartment-"

David laughed. "If you're really going to bring that up, I can tell you how not soundproof the walls of the Jolly Roger are."

Shuddering, Emma shook her head. "Let's pretend not to discuss our sex lives."

"I'm a peasant, Emma. Discussing our sex lives was how we kept ourselves from going crazy in the winter. It's not like any of us could read."

She blinked at him, trying to take in the idea that he'd learned to read in King George's castle, as an adult. She'd never been the world's best student, but she could read by the time she was seven. Nearly everyone did.

"There wasn't anything for me to read. I could do sums enough to figure out how much I should have been being paid for my wool and cheese, but I didn't need to know anything else."

"Big learning curve being a prince then?"

Nodding, he flicked a tiny stone off the battlements to bounce down the wall into the water below. "I knew the basics of fighting, and I was too much of an idiot to be afraid when I should have been. I could pull off the dragon-slayer bit. The ruling of the kingdom was much more complicated. King George brought me tutors, some patient, some not and I tried to do well. I hating studying."

"I must get that from you."

"Your mother still has to explain to me what the unfamiliar words are when we write treaties and formal correspondence, and the kingdom's accounts still don't make much sense to me."

"Me either."

"So I listen, watch your mother, and try to be the kind of king I would have found fair if I was still a shepherd." He turned his head to her, smiling in support. "There's no secret trick to ruling a kingdom. Some people have trained their whole lives for it, like Snow and Regina, some of us get thrust into it and have to muddle through. You're so brave, so passionate and your heart is always in the right place. You'll be a great queen, Emma."

Her eyes stung. No one was ever proud of her. If she did well, she didn't get yelled at and no one was disappointed. Being quiet and staying out of trouble was all her foster parents wanted, not good grades (she couldn't do that either). "Hopefully not for a long time."

He put his arm round her shoulders and hugged her. "Not for a very long time, but I want you to know, if something happened to Snow and I, that you could do it. You would build a great kingdom."

She wasn't going to cry. Emma tried to keep up that pretence as long as she could. "Thanks."

"I'm not just saying this because I'm your dad. I was pretty proud of you when you were the sheriff who kept Mary Margaret out of prison."

Emma pulled him close, turning the half hug into a tight embrace. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't told him how afraid she was to be in charge, even if it was only a few weeks, and he'd known, and tried to make her feel better. Parents did that. Parents in stories took care of their kids like that. Now she was in one, and he loved her and fuck if she knew what to do with that.

He continued to hold her, steady and solid. "There's something else I wanted to tell you."

"I don't think I'm up for any more of you being nice to me." Emma muttered into his shoulder.

"Part of why we wanted to get away, just for awhile, was to spend some time together before everything gets crazy."

"You mean when we're attacked by evil fairies and the mines collapse on us?"

He let her go long enough to look at her, kissed her forehead and started hugging her again. "When you have a little baby to look after I think you'll really understand crazy."

"Regina's the only one who's done that before, so let's hope she remembers." They'd lost so much trying to be noble and do the right thing. If Henry hadn't come for Emma, she never would have known any of them: not her parents, not Regina, and not her son.

"I guess we're all getting another chance."

She thought for a moment he meant Regina's baby, but then her mind put the strings together. She broke their hug, staring at him.

"You guys are?"

"Your mother's pregnant. She wanted to tell Regina, so I got to tell you. I know it'll be a little strange having a sibling so much younger than you." Happiness lit his face like a thousand fireflies. "Our children can grow up together, which is admittedly odd, but wonderful."

As thrilled as she was that they were getting a chance to finally be parents from the beginning, it stung a little that she'd get to see what she'd never had. Her parents would get to be parents, the way they never had with her. She loved them, so the bitterness sank away. She could tell Regina and she'd understand. Emma would probably risk setting off another chain of self-accusation, but if it weren't for the curse, there would be no Henry, so the curse wasn't all bad.

"Congratulations." That was the right thing to say, and how much she loved them both, and how stupidly happy she was, because she was. Only a time part of her wished Emma could be that baby and grow up always loved, always secure, always knowing that his or her parents were there for her. She'd get through it. She'd be there for her own kids and watch her parents get the chance they missed.

Hugging her father again hid her tears. They were mostly happy ones anyway.

"I guess we're going to have more in common."

"Yeah, we can start our own expectant parents club. You can bring the liquor."

David laughed, kissing her again on the forehead. She wouldn't trade this, even to have her parents when she grew up. This was special, goofy, comedic special, and sweet at the same time. Maybe this was something they could do together, figuring out the parent thing as they went.

"I'm glad you're happy."

"Why I wouldn't I be happy?"

"I've heard sibling rivalry is a thing."

"I doubt it's that much of a thing when the kids are this far apart. Maybe between Baby Trouble and Baby Charming, they'll be much closer in age. Baby Charming better not have any evil plots to steal the throne or anything like that. I hear that happens with aunts and uncles and this family has a track record."

David kept his arm round her shoulder. "He or she will behave, we'll make sure of it." He hugged her a little tighter, as if sensing her sorrow that Henry would never be king. Maybe it would be good for him to avoid the throne. He hadn't had much of a chance to be Henry and maybe king was something he didn't want to be.

Emma didn't want it and Baby Trouble would at least have the luxury of knowing the responsibility was coming all her life. Emma wasn't sure if that would help or not, but maybe Regina and Snow would know what to do. They'd be raised to rule.

"Is mom okay? She's not sick like Regina was?"

"She never got that sick with you. She's been eating bread before she leaves bed saying that helps, I think it gets crumbs in the sheets-"

Emma nudged him in the ribs. "You are not allowed to complain about that."

"I am, just not to Snow."

Looking back up at the stars, Emma smirked. "When she's wearing something thin, Regina has just this much of a belly, and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I just want to keep touching her, but she's a little self-conscious."

David shared her joy in a way that made her happy for her mother. "That's pretty normal."

"I think it's hard for her, trying to balance what everyone's going to think when we tell them. She's still the Evil Queen in her head and it's hard to convince her that people believe she's changed. She's almost friends with Ruby, and she seems to get along fine with Mulan." Emma drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the stone. "I thought it was hard for me to get used to having friends. It's much worse for her. I don't expect anyone to care, but she expects to be hated."

"Even now that you're married?"

"I guess marrying the saviour isn't a get out of jail free card for everyone when it comes to her."

"Has anyone said anything?"

Emma frowned, fidgeting with her sword hilt. "No one says anything. She just doesn't come out unless I'm there. No one eats next to her unless you, mom or I are there. It's gotten a little better because Mulan isn't afraid of her, and Aurora doesn't seem to hate her, but it's like no one sees her, not the way I do."

Touching her arm, he smiled to calm her. "No one may ever understand Regina as well as you do."

"I know we're all trying, but, I guess I wish I could make it go faster. She's done nothing but good for the kingdom since we came to Neverland. She helped me summon a dragon and save Qin. I mean, what else do we need to do?"

"I doubt anyone's waiting for proof of loyalty, you've made Regina's allegiances very clear. I think it's just that it's hard to change what you've believed in most of your life. If Rumpelstiltskin wanted to redeem himself, most people would have a hard time with that too."

"But Belle adores him."

"And his own son doubts he's really changed. Henry told me that Baelfire was happier with the mermaids than he'd ever seen him on land."

Emma couldn't help grinning at the mention of Henry. "You went to see him?"

David leaned against the wall next to her, staring out at the trees. "Your mother and I go whenever we can. King Triton and his daughters are valuable allies and it's incredible how much Henry's learned. He was telling us all about the whales who live in our part of the sea. Snow and I have never even seen a whale."

"I did at Seaworld." Fidgeting with her sword again, Emma risked the question. "What was it like when I was born?"

"Regina's curse darkened the sky; her guards attacked the palace. You decided to come in the middle of it." He stroked a stray piece of hair from her forehead. "You've always had unique timing."

"Who was there?"

"Your mother and I, and Doc. Everyone else was trying to keep us safe." He inclined his head, studying her.

Keeping her eyes on the cool stone beneath her fingers, Emma couldn't imagine Regina and Doc doing well together at all. The dwarves had a determined hatred of Regina that was only slowly abating. "I think Regina would like Mom to be there when Baby Trouble comes. She's known her the longest and I think they're really starting to get along."

"I'm sure your mother will be honoured if you ask. We both love you."

Emma had three prison nurses to deliver Henry, and they'd all been kind. They weren't family, and she hadn't been close to any of them, but none of them had hated her. They had painkillers and lots of machines, but other than the demerol, she hadn't needed much. Henry had been a pretty straightforward kid, three days from his due date, head down and in a hurry. She didn't even want to ask what they did here when there was a problem. Cut and hope the Blue Fairy could heal fast enough? She should have asked Regina already, but she didn't want to scare her.

She'd have to find someone other than Doc, or Dr. Whale. Regina had too much history with him to be comfortable and Emma wanted Baby Trouble's entrance into the world to be positive.

"You could ask Granny."

"Yeah?"

"She knows much about everything and she was the midwife in her village because she was the only one who didn't fear the wolf."

Granny had pointed her crossbow at Regina a few times, but that was less of a history than Whale bringing back her dead fiance. That was bound to be an interesting conversation. She could Regina first then talk to Granny, or maybe it was better to feel out her options before she mentioned any of it to Regina.

"I just want her to be safe."

"She'll be fine. Regina's one of the best survivors I know."

Emma didn't know how to tell her father that this was the medieval world, where people died from dirty water, poisonous bread and because someone didn't wash their hands after they touched a pig. They had magic, but did true love tackle simple things like babies being the wrong way round? What about infections? What was magically healed and what was just fate?

She'd have to ask for another audience with the Blue Fairy, or dare try Rumpelstiltskin. He seemed to know more of healing magic than he usually spoke of. Belle probably had some books on childbirth, because she had books on everything. What would medieval books say about it? Would they be all about amulets and praying? Mulan would be worth asking, because someone had trained her to heal, and surely babies would have been covered.

"Don't worry," her father said again. "It'll be fine. You and your mother were fine."

"I kinda wish I could have the kid for her."

"Henry wasn't that bad?"

"Not bad, like a marathon in the dead of night with a bowling ball strapped to your stomach or something." There wasn't a good way to describe it. She had been so young that she hadn't really understood what was going on. It hurt, but life hurt and she fought through it because that was what she did. It had to be different when you loved someone and they were there with you, holding you.

Regina would be fine. Perhaps this was part of the journey she needed to have to really forgive herself. There must have been a reason she'd gotten pregnant instead of Emma that was more than just Emma's incompetence. Magic had a weird will of its own and this child had been started with magic.

"You'll be there for her." Her father said that with the kind of sincerity that meant it was enough. Her family had so much belief that Emma found it hard to imagine where hers had gone. She struggled, but her parents just knew. So did Henry. Regina was on the other end, trusting that fate had doomed her. That left Emma the doubting middle ground.

"Think mom's had enough time?" Emma lifted her hands from the damp stone of the battlements, wiping the dew on her breeches.

"You want to get back."

"I don't want-"

"You want to be with Regina. Trust me, I understand."

He understood her better than he knew. Emma hugged him again, grateful beyond words that whatever twisted force writing their tale had given her back her parents now, when she needed them. They could do this. Maybe they'd have to do it all together: birth and raise the child as a village if they needed to. They were family now, and family didn't have to fight alone.

Regina pulled her tunic down across her waist, tucking it into her riding breeches. The first pair she'd been given had started out far too big several weeks ago, and she'd kept them, knowing she'd need them. She hadn't expected it to be so soon. She still didn't feel the baby showed much at all, but her waist had changed. She needed to fasten them loosely, and her coat would hide her as long as she didn't try to close it. Was her body going to keep changing so quickly from now on? She'd seen other women's bellies swell out past what seemed to be possible and she'd known it would happen to her, but never really had it sink in.

She turned in front of the mirror that she'd propped up on the bureau, putting a scarf around her neck and letting it hang down past her waist. That hid more of her. She wasn't sure she why wanted to hide the baby. She wasn't ashamed, but she wasn't ready. She drew enough stares as it was. Perhaps when her hair grew out and she could pull it back, it would be easier to pass through the people without being recognised and carefully avoided. Even in the Enchanted Forest, she was still too much their mayor and queen.

Smoke swirled in the little mirror but the genie hadn't shown himself. Was he still sulking because she'd locked him up after Kathrine's near murder had needed a scapegoat? Was it too hard for him to watch her with Emma? She hadn't spared much thought towards his feelings, but she'd never asked him to love her. It would have been enough if he'd lusted after her and wished to share her bed enough to kill her husband. She'd arranged for him to make a clean get away. He could have been safe in his homeland, far from the curse if he'd just left her.

The mirror made her more uneasy than studying her changed figure. Self-conscious, Regina flipped the mirror so it faced the wood and felt her belly with her hands instead, trying to judge how it had changed. Beneath her navel had a roundness and if she surrounded it with her hands, she could feel the fluid around the baby, strangely firm, but soft if she pushed inward. Was it dark? Could the baby feel her hands moving around her? Perhaps she'd poked too hard, because the bubbling feeling returned, moving just beneath her fingers.

"Hello," she whispered before she stopped herself. The baby couldn't hear her. She couldn't hear Emma either, but that never stopped Emma from rambling away as if the kid were at least twelve. There was no point in talking to the baby, yet, she wanted to. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say, or how she'd word it, but the baby was part of her, part of Emma and as foolish as it seemed, she wanted to communicate with her.

"I know we're not supposed to go riding, not today anyway because we're supposed to be resting." The bubbling sped up, twisting somehow so it was closer to her left hand. "We've been inside all day and I'm fine. We're fine. So we're leaving, just for awhile." Sneaking out to go riding reminded her of a much simpler time, when she'd thought so differently about the world. Hiding from Emma was nothing like hiding from Cora. Emma would be disappointed, maybe even concerned, but she'd never hurt her. Emma would never make her beg, unless Regina wanted her too. Love forgave and didn't blackmail.

Thinking of her mother made her wonder if Cora had spoken to her when Regina had been within her. Had she cared? Without a heart, had being pregnant been anything more than a means to an end? Perhaps she'd hated the whole thing. Cora had never wanted another child after Regina and as lonely as she'd been, Regina had never questioned that. She was all her mother needed; all she'd bothered to have.

"We want you," she said to the tiny creature within her who would never doubt as Regina had. "We want you so much. We already love you. Emma loves you, Henry loves you, your grandparents will probably spoil you, and Ruby will teach you to hunt. You'll be loved from the moment we hold you. Every day." Her eyes stung and she blinked back the tears that threatened her control. She could make this right from the beginning; be sure this baby never saw the Evil Queen that Henry resented so much.

Emma would help keep her grounded. She had her own fears, but the way their difficulties meshed together worked. They could get this right; give this baby a good life, one less painful than either of her mother's and more stable than Henry's. There'd be no curse and no conflicting identities for her to grow up with.

Teleporting herself down to the stables, Regina avoided the guards and servants who might ask why she wasn't resting. No one would stop her, but word might get to Emma and that would mean a fight she didn't want to have. Magic healed faster than Emma believed it did, and Regina couldn't stand being kept in bed. It would have been different if she as tired, but by some miracle, she wasn't. She had more energy than she'd had in weeks and even though she'd had the entire day to do nothing with, she hadn't taken a nap. Perhaps it was residual magic, or she'd finally entered the part of pregnancy rumoured to be pleasant.

Quiet filled the stables, broken only by horses snuffling in their stalls. They'd made good progress and they'd be able to field cavalry soon, if they needed too. Dulcinea came to Regina's hand, looking for an apple, as she usually did. Regina hadn't brought one, but she seemed content just to be touched. Stroking the mare's velvet nose, Regina lost herself in the familiar scents of hay and horses. Peace reigned in the stables, and this one had no dark memories for her.

"I thought I might find you here," Snow interrupted her thoughts, emerging from the darkness. She wore simple riding leathers, ivory and brown. She'd left her crown behind too, and with her hair still short from the curse, she looked every bit the rogue princess, if a bit more elfin than her old wanted posters.

"You won't tell Emma?"

"Are you pushing yourself too hard?" Snow's tone had more of a maternal air than she usually dared with Regina.

"I feel fine."

"It took three diamonds worth of fairy dust to heal you yesterday."

"And it's effective." Regina pulled her saddle down from the wall and started for Dulcinea's stall. "Please, don't."

"Too much fussing for one day?"

"Emma ate breakfast with me, Grace brought up my lunch, Belle brought me books, then the cricket came to make sure I wasn't blaming myself for Maleficent's actions, then the Blue Fairy came to make sure I wasn't damaging her handiwork-" She stopped. She'd been unfair complaining about everyone else, but the Blue Fairy's brief visit had a strangeness to it that left her unsettled.

Snow led her mare out of the stall. The horse was more tan than white, and Regina recognised her as the one David had been calling Luna. He had mentioned that she was for Snow.

"People are worried about you." Snow said, checking the bridle.

"Why?"

"Because you're part of our community. You and your baby. When you came back from patrol covered in blood and beaten, you frightened many, and not just because Maleficent was out there, because you were hurt."

Pausing as she adjusted her own tack, Regina realised that Snow meant to come with her. Perhaps that would be her price for not telling Emma. She'd been trying to avoid company, but Snow hadn't fretted over her.

"I'm fine now."

"And we're all relieved." Snow swung herself up into her saddle and waited for Regina to finish. "It's been some time since I rode, but I ought to remember how this goes."

An acerbic barb came to Regina's tongue and faded. She didn't want to fight. In fact, she appreciated the quiet company. Other than those who came to worry about her, she'd been alone. Emma had promised to come back when council broke, but she'd been detained with her father and Regina just couldn't handle the walls of her bedroom any more.

"I was going to circle round the lake, then follow the beach for awhile."

"Sounds lovely," Snow agreed. "If you promise not to call me your majesty I won't tell Emma you took her baby riding at night."

Regina scoffed, sparing a glare at Snow. It wasn't as if she were bringing a newborn with her. Baby Trouble, as Emma so indelicately loved to call her, slept fairly comfortably within her. She'd barely feel a thing.

"The crown is heavy."

"To be honest, I don't know how you ruled for so long by yourself." Snow followed Regina out into the night, leaving the torches behind as they left the castle. Soon they only had the rising moon and brilliant stars above them.

"I didn't have much of a choice, dear." She kept Dulcinea to a walk, taking their time on the feeble road to the beach. They'd be clear of obstacles on the sand, but she didn't want to risk spooking the horses while in the trees.

Snow's soft smile carried a sympathy that would have disgusted Regina once, now she almost appreciated it. They rode for some time, absorbed in the softness of the night around them.

"Did you have a particular reason for ambushing me or is this just how you're bonding with your daughter-in-law?"

Grinning, Snow urged her mount ahead, reaching the beach before Regina. She circled round, bringing her horse even with Regina's again. "I've been meaning to catch you alone for some time."

Half expecting some threat about maintaining Emma's happiness, Regina tightened her grip on the leather reigns. "You have?"

"I wanted to tell you that David and I are, well, I suppose I'm doing most of it."

Stroking Dulcinea's neck, Regina didn't understand what Snow was getting at. "I beg your pardon?"

Smiling so that her face became a beacon of joy, Snow found easier words. "I'm pregnant, Regina. I wanted to tell you myself, before any one else did. Our babies are going to grow up together."

She should have suspected. Birth control was far from reliable here and Snow and David were particularly fond of each other. Emma's younger sibling would be a few months younger than his or her aunt, but stranger things had happened.

"Congratulations." Smiling came easier than she expected. It would be sweet to watch Emma play with both babies and it meant life had truly returned after the curse. Babies would be common for the next few years as everyone's lives moved forward after their long stagnation in Storybrooke.

"David's telling Emma, that's why he stole her from you." Snow reached across the space between their horses and squeezed Regina's hand. "She'll be waiting for you when we get back, I promise. I just, well, it's funny. I always thought that when I had a child, my mother would be there to guide me through it. When you married my father, I always knew it would be you."

"I'm not much ahead of you and you have already had a child." She couldn't have more than a few months head start, which hardly made her an expert, and Snow had already had Emma, and knew so much more than Regina did. That logic did not seem to bother the young queen.

"I just think it's wonderful to me that we're doing this together."

Regina wouldn't have used wonderful to describe it, but she shared a sense of camaraderie. Even if it only meant that someone would finally understand how much her breasts itched and Snow's pregnancy would take the kingdom's attention quite effectively from her own.

"I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you, Regina. You don't know what this means to me." Snow didn't force her into any more awkward conversation. She squeezed Regina's hand again and rode off down the beach, leaving Regina to her thoughts as Dulcinea shifted beneath her, eager to follow Luna down the sand.

Letting her go, Regina focused on her ride. She'd always felt free on the back of a horse. As the moon rose higher, reflecting over the sea, she drew even with Snow again and met her with a smile.

"You don't vomit the way I did, do you?"

"I'm sorry."

Regina nearly laughed. Snow would apologise for having a more pleasant pregnancy.

"I get headaches and sometimes I just want to eat plain bread because everything else upsets my stomach but no, I haven't thrown up at all."

Snow would probably get that glow everyone raved about and a perfectly round baby belly.

"You're past that though, aren't you?" Snow asked, turning her horse back towards the castle.

"As long as Rumpelstiltskin keeps his darker spells away from the castle, I should be fine."

"You're starting to show."

She thought she'd hidden it. "Emma keeps wishing for more."

"You'll carry it well."

There was no way of knowing what her slowly increasing figure would be like and the fact that both women seemed so much in agreement perplexed Regina. "How do you know?"

"You've always been beautiful. You were beautiful when you married my father, when you saved me from my horse, when you cursed me with that apple." Snow's eyes held only affection even when she spoke of the past. "You'll be the most beautiful pregnant woman our kingdom has ever seen."

Regina doubted that was a very large group, and the compliment made her uneasy, as they often did. Snow hadn't even called her kingdom, but instead magnanimously called it theirs. Yet, in spite of what logic told her, and her own misgivings, she wanted to believe Snow's faith was genuine.

"I'll probably look like I've swallowed a whole wheel of cheese again."

Snow White had been nothing but graceful and elegant when she was pregnant. It had been sickening at the time. Perhaps it had been different in her eyes.

"At least I'll be there first."

"You will." Snow reached for her hand and this time Regina met her halfway. "It'll be wonderful."

Returning Snow's smile, Regina couldn't deny that part of her agreed.