HUGE thank you to mooglesmuse for editing this chapter even during this busy time. I appreciate it and everything else you do!

Chapter Eighteen
'Gardens of Insight'

-.-.-

Steven watched as Regina's eyes slid to him. He knew instantly that the Dark Queen was accusing him of the supposed betrayal. His grip on his sword tightened as he straightened his shoulders. He would be damned if he fronted the blame for actions he hadn't even committed.

"Do not voice your insinuation." Steven ordered.

Regina rolled her eyes, but did not voice the concern she had insinuated while staring at him. It bothered Regina, minimally, that with only a glance both the Primrose Prince and the White Princess could read her so accurately. It spoke of a deep connection, a bond between the three of them that Regina did not like admitting to. Any bond with these two was a weakness Regina could not afford. Not now when she had to weed out the spy, the betrayer.

Emma grabbed Steven's shoulder and squeezed it in her attempt to calm him. She tried to use her grip as leverage to keep him steady while she stepped forward to stand beside him. However, for every step Emma took forward Steven took two. He needed to keep himself in front of Emma. Any unwanted eyes could peer at them at any moment. He needed to keep up appearances. His sword remained pointed towards Regina and he kept his body between Regina's and Emma's as best he could.

He could hear Emma sigh at his movement, but did not relent on this unspoken issue. They were out in the open, they could not afford for anyone to see them chatting amicably. It would not be easily explained why Steven had not put himself between Emma and Regina when the Dark Queen was meant to represent danger. Not even Emma's unconventional independence would explain why he allowed her to remain unprotected.

"We have put in just as much effort, if not more, than you and Maleficent. Why would we jeopardize it?"

"There is no other way for my castle's location to be known." Regina crossed her arms loosely as she stared at the two, her eyes slyly taking in their surroundings. She had never been inside the Royal Primrose Garden and she had to admit, Aurora had quite the green thumb.

"You had to disclose all of your property in the treaties." Emma rolled her eyes. Emma had been present when the Primrose royal cartographer made a map of Regina's land based on the numbers offered in the treaty. Surely if King Phillip was having these maps drawn then her parents had done the same.

Steven added, "It was only a matter of time before they would come across the castle. You're land is not as vast as you might think it is." It also wasn't protected by enchantments any longer, as part of the treaties she disclosed all of her land. Since there had been no counter offers no one Kingdom had asked for the specific location of her castle, and none of them would. It would be perceived as an act of aggression and the 'good' and noble Kingdoms did not wish to be the first to make such a request.

Regina bristled at Steven's tone, her arms falling to her sides as her gaze hardened. Emma wondered what frustrated Regina more, the fact that Steven was insulting her or if she had not even considered Emma's theory. Of course the witch would not think that Snow White and Prince Charming had come across the location of her castle through their own ingenuity. Of course there was a spy, a dissenter in her midst. And not just one but several. The Dark Queen's paranoia did not work in the witch's favor.

"You also have dissenters, spies, just as our parents have." Steven reminded Regina casually. "It could be any number of them."

He made notes of each of those men and women's names. Maleficent kept him updated as he did her on her own staff. The lines of communication and trust were not as open between Steven and Regina though he had offered several names to Maleficent to warn Regina about. The spies were kept in all of their midst because there would come a time when they were useful, just as they had been in the past. The ability to pass on false information, to see just how long it took for information to travel between the Kingdom lines was invaluable in times like this.

"Unlikely," Regina brushed the tip of her finger over her lips as she recalled how she'd dealt with the last dissenter. "I have dealt with the dissenters in my ranks during your absence."

Steven rolled his eyes, of course she had. Word was that the Dark Queen had been unruly in the last week. Temperamental. And if possible more paranoid then she'd been in the recent past.

"That does not mean you have flushed them all out." He found Regina's doubt in them disappointing. They had worked so hard to create a truce, an alliance.

To think that a week of absence had caused Regina to call them out as traitors worried him. Their bond should have been stronger than this. She should not have immediately accused them. Emma, he could understand, but he had just as much-if not more-at stake than Emma did in these treaties. Regina knew first hand just how much Steven had at stake, they all did. Maleficent. His future. His love. He would not jeopardize their efforts over a petty grudge between the women before him.

"You would rather it be one of us though." Emma's hand slipped away from Steven's shoulder. "It makes it easier for you to cut ties with us if you can blame us." Regina did her best not to flinch as the blonde continued. "You have no reason to distrust us."

Regina's nails dug into her palms. She would rather it be Emma or Steven, preferably Emma who had betrayed her. It would make things easier for her if she could lump Emma into the pile of people who had disappointed her, betrayed her, hurt her. It seemed, however, that Emma would not go quietly.

Regina laughed mockingly, "Don't I? Or was the revelation of your…"

Emma hissed, sending a persistent glare at Regina. She jerked her head from side to side. Steven did not know about her magic. There were only three others that knew the physicality of Emma's magic and Steven was not among them.

Her prophetic dreams were different. Many of the monarchs knew of her prophetic dreams. Many of them had used information Emma had dreamed to their advantage in the years since she began experiencing them. Steven only knew of her dreams and even he knew very little about what she had stopped, had stalled, or allowed to happen.

Blue Fairy and her parents had kept Emma's magic well-guarded. Emma wondered what Blue Fairy would think of their, her, guarded secret being revealed so casually by the Dark Queen. After all the work that Blue Fairy had put in to keep Emma's magic a secret, how upsetting for the matron it would be to know her worst enemy was now aware of her 'saving grace'.

It had been years since Emma had slipped in her use of magic. She took lessons as a girl with Blue Fairy until she was sixteen. All in secret. It was assumed that her lessons with the Fairy were purely theoretical and the Princess merely being educated on the culture and history of the Fae. It was easy to manipulate the Courts. They already thought Emma strange. Why not play on her uniqueness and divert their attention away from what happened behind the curtain.

Regina's eyes widened, her head tilting to the side as a smirk drew across her face. "Well, well well, look whose keeping secrets."

Steven's eyes narrowed as he looked between Regina and Emma. He had to turn to see Emma's expression. He knew that they were communicating nonverbally when Emma turned bright, guilty eyes at him, pleading to allow this to drop.

"What is she talking about?" He couldn't let this go. He felt that if there was one person in all the world that he could trust with anything it was Emma. If Emma did not feel the same way, he needed to know that and why.

"Nothing." Emma insisted. The vein in her neck began to pulse as her heart rate skyrocketed. Her palms began to sweat as Steven's eyes remained trained on her, his knowing eyes searching her for answers she wouldn't voice. She remained as still as stone to attempt to thwart off Steven's unique and unequivocally annoying ability to read her body language like an interesting tale.

"Emma…" He warned, his gaze shifting back to Regina when he heard the witch's outfit crinkle as she moved.

Regina offered him a placating smile before they both looked to the stiff blonde. Regina would give Emma this opportunity to tell her 'darling Prince'. If she did not Regina would take that chance from her. Fair was fair was fair after all.

"Not, now, Steven. Not here." Emma insisted feeling incredibly vulnerable as she stood out in the open garden with her best friend and her…she didn't know what to consider Regina. Not anymore.

The conversation she promised to have with Steven should not even be taking place. It was too dangerous. For them all. Steven would have no way to protect himself, protect his mind. The moment he knew he would become a target for enemies that had yet to come looking for Emma. Regina had the ability to protect herself from the darkness that would come and threaten them all but Steven didn't. Emma didn't wish to put him in any undue danger.

The sound of Regina's amusement echoed in Emma's ears, the laughter ringing louder than it was released. Emma felt her skin flush as if kissed by the sun for long hours. Her mouth seemed impossibly dry even as she convulsively swallowed. Her eyes flickered between Steven's stiffening posture and Regina's beguiled expression.

Not now…Emma begged silently.

"Trust, trust me now, Steven. Please," Emma's voice lowered her tone even as she pleaded with Steven, forcing herself to meet his gaze. She hoped he could read her desperation, her need for him to put his faith in her, to trust that she was doing what was best.

"Yes," Regina drawled, "Trust her Steven. Like we have been," Regina stalked to the right as if preparing to circle the two royal babes, "As fools…" she stressed, eyes ablaze, "for all this time." Regina waved her hand in a circular motion in front of her, a swirl of magic weaving behind her hand. She was no longer amused but bored. If Emma would not tell him, she would.

Emma felt her guilt subside as anger burned deep beneath her breast. The mere sound of Regina's taunts igniting the short fuse that lit up her chest like a spark did dry brush. Clenching her fists Emma stepped forward. She was only stopped by Steven's arm holding her back.

"You know nothing of what you speak. You merely wish to cause a rift between Steven and I. All of it, everything you speak and say, your actions, it is all some game in your twisted little scheme." Emma hissed between curled lips as she sneered at the dark witch.

"Is it my game if I am no longer holding all of the cards?" Regina mused aloud, her eyes staring up at the afternoon sky above them before leveling her gaze to Emma's, a brow arched in question.

Steven's fingers tightened their hold on Emma's arm when he felt the Princess twitch forward. He pulled a bit on his strength to pull her a step or two back so she was once again standing diagonally behind him. They formed a brilliant example of a scalene triangle with Regina standing opposite Emma.

Emma released a heavy breath as she pulled away from Steven, anxious energy coursing through her veins as she itched to pace in place. Instead she shook her arms and twisted her wrists while wiggling her fingers to expel the sudden spike in vigor. She needed better control of her emotions. If she did not gain control she risked exposure, further exposure.

"Damn you." Emma spat at Regina, her eyes beginning to glow. She blinked the magic away, closed them tightly and began a quick meditation.

"You need to leave." Steven stated as he turned away from Emma. He was beginning to feed off of Emma's anxiousness. If what Emma needed to discuss with him needed to be done in private then they needed to retire to one of their rooms. He would settle for finding an empty pantry in the kitchen if it was closer, anything to stop Emma from looking away from him guiltily.

"Me?" Regina touched her chest in faux wonder. "But I was being civil."

Emma snorted though her eyes remained closed, "Hardly."

Regina glared at the Princess, crossing her arms purposefully over her chest as she stared at Emma's eyelids, the Princess's lips moving in a silent chant.

"Something interesting, dear?" Regina questioned, her voice soft soothing. A lie, a deception in and of itself.

Emma's eyes snapped open but she was quick to look away afraid they were still aglow. She stared at the blue Hydrangea growing in beautiful tandem with the blooms around it. The open blossoms vibrant blue calmed the Princess' breathing and her body slackened from the rigid posture she had been holding. The flowers turned, on their own accord, towards Emma, beckoned silently by her magic.

Steven watched the flowers turn as if preening themselves. He blinked twice sure he couldn't be seeing what he was. When his eyes opened again the flowers were as they were meant to be.

He squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds and counted to five, his temples suddenly pounding. This scene was just becoming too much for him. He was already on edge. To be standing in his mother's garden with his sword raised at a woman that was meant to be their ally while his best friend lied to him and fell apart in front of him—again—because of said ally, was too much.

"You truly have no sense of self-preservation, do you, Princess?" Regina questioned, reminded of Emma's blatant disrespect as they stood upon the waterfall edge.

'Never needed one before', was at the tip of Emma's tongue but she bit it back. She would not allow herself to be pulled into another of Regina's round about bickering matches. The sooner Regina left the palace grounds the better it would be for them all.

Regina seemed disappointed that the skill she'd just denied Emma of reared its head in the opinionated Princess, as Emma bit her tongue and practiced the art of self-preservation.

"There are still a great many things we need to discuss." The Dark Queen amply pointed out almost as if she were striving to keep their interaction prolonged. Maybe that was exactly what she was doing. She had neither the intention nor desire to leave just yet. There was still so much to say, so much that needed to be discussed, revealed, and recounted.

Emma's sudden disregard riled Regina in a way the brunette did not wish to recognize. Emma's sudden indifference caused the blood under Regina's skin to race through her veins, making her sweat and itch and tremble.

"We have nothing to discuss with you any longer." The air shifted through the foliage around them, the noise causing them all to stiffen suddenly, more alert and aware of their location. "We have upheld our end of the bargain. We" Emma vaguely gestured to herself and Steven, "Are doing our best to assure each Kingdom agrees to the terms that benefit both sides. You can return to your palace assured that we had nothing to do with its breach."

They held no real responsibility for the breach. Emma hoped Regina could at least admit to herself that they were innocent of the crimes she thought they committed. The betrayal she so easily accused them of.

"Whatever was left for us to say to each other has been said."

"Now, take your leave." Steven asked as politely as his frayed nerves would allow.

Regina sneered, "Very well. But this…" She gestured around them, "is not over."

"Yes," Emma whispered her voice carried by the light breeze around them, "it is."

Emma appeared as regal and Queen-like as Regina had ever seen her in that moment. With her head held high, chin out, shoulders straight, hands clasped gently over her stomach, she gave off an air of fortitude unlike any she'd exhibited in the time Regina had known her.

Regina had to catch herself before she bowed her head at the eye opening display.

Instead, Regina forced herself to retain a cruel expression as she willed herself to transport away. Away from the one place she wished to stay if it meant remaining in the Princess' presence. It was that thought, that made Regina lash out at the first thing she saw when she returned to her castle—the mirror display shattered into millions of pieces as a pure current of her magic connected with it.

"Damn. Damn her!" Regina growled as beneath her boot millions of little increments of Sealy appeared in the glass. Regina stalked away, Sealy's knowing eyes being crunched under her boots as she went.

"Your Majesty?" Regina spun towards one of the mirrors hanging from the wall.

"What!?" She snapped, eyes ablaze.

"There has been an, incident. General Raul and Colonel Rickman request your presence in the war room immediately." Sealy drew back, if that were even possible, from the surface of the mirror afraid it, like the last would meet an untimely end. "There has been an unfortunate…"

Regina did not wait to hear what more Sealy had to say. Instead she disappeared in another purple and black flourish. As she appeared in the war room she noticed the hustle and nervous anxiety that stifled the room.

The location and the actions of the men around her were more than enough for her to know there had been another attack.

"General, report!"

-.-.-.-

Emma watched as Regina's face fell for but a moment before it was consumed by stark indifference again. Emma realized that this was the first time she had seen Regina in person for over a week. They had been working together for nearly three months and had only gone two or three days without seeing one another for an extended period of time. It was only natural that Emma become fond of Regina's prescense, wasn't it? Emma thought so, had blamed their time together on the growth of her feelings for the witch. But it wasn't as simple as that. Love, apparently, never was.

It pained Emma to know that as soon as Regina left she would not see her again for an undetermined amount of time. That knowledge caused her chest to tighten and her heart to slow as if it were protesting.

Emma could despise all Regina had done, despise the woman for who she was, and who she was trying desperately to pretend she wasn't. There was just something about the brunette that pulled Emma in, lulled her into false senses of security, and eased away the tensions of their reality.

A reality that Emma often wished to escape from but no longer was capable of doing so. Not while remaining at the Primrose castle. There was no masquerading as a bounty hunter here. There wasn't the time. She needed to remain a symbol, the image of the White Kingdom in an allied land. She could hardly ever be herself here. No matter how home like it could be or how loved she felt by Aurora, Penelope, and Steven, it wasn't home and even with them she remained apart, separate. It was so unlike how she had been while with Regina at the witch's castle or Maleficent's fortress. There, with them, she could truly be herself. Here it was like being suffocated slowly.

Being in Regina's presence was like a drug and Emma only now realized she was in withdrawal. Her snappish attitude, her wave like emotional upward and downward spikes, the anxious energy coursing through her, her sudden lack of control on her own magic.

They were symptoms of not being in the regal Queen's presence. All were emotional. All stemmed from one increasingly discomforting place. And she could only admit to it as she watched Regina's body disappear behind a billowing cloud of purple and black smoke.

She missed Regina

-.-.-.-.-

As Regina disappeared, from the shadows Aurora stepped away from her hiding spot. She had pressed her back against the wall just behind the open pillars that led to the garden when she'd seen Steven pull his sword and heard the echo of Regina's voice. She had been returning to ask Emma about, her actions. Aurora had wanted to press Emma for more information than she had before in the hopes that she could help the Princess deal with her confusion.

Aurora had not been able to help Steven through the turmoil he faced when he realized his love for Maleficent, and she was doing her best to make up for that. But she could help Emma understand her feelings better than anyone might like to believe she could. She wanted Emma to have the happiness she deserved with the person she loved. If that person happened to be Regina, then Aurora would stand beside the blonde Princess. She would assist Emma in the ways no one had assisted her when she had come to love a woman she should not.

"My Queen?" Aurora turned from the shadow she was beginning to slide away from at the sound of Dylan's voice. She hadn't heard him approach, her focus so resolutely on the three in the garden.

"Captain?" Aurora tried to keep her heart from jumping free from her chest in her surprise, and fright.

"I beg your apologies, your Majesty, but King Phillip requests your audience in the Grand Hall."

Aurora's smile was slow and fake as she tilted her head in acknowledgement of the Captain's news. He did not move to leave her be. She found his behavior a bit odd. She was about to comment on it when he continued his message.

"I am to escort you, it is an urgent matter." He bowed, his eyes only rising when she touched his shoulder as she passed him.

"Ah, yes, of course." Aurora kept herself from looking back into the garden, unwilling to point any suspecting glances in the direction of her son and Emma. Instead she walked as regally as she could down the hallway towards the Great Hall, the Captain of her husband's guard behind her.

She did not notice Dylan's eyes staring into the garden before he followed after her.

-.-.-.-

Steven relaxed the moment that Regina's cloud of smoke disappeared. He sheathed his sword and turned purposefully to Emma. He watched as she fought some kind of battle within herself, a myriad of emotions crossing over her countenance as she stared towards the empty space Regina had once occupied.

"Emma?" He spoke softly worried if he spoke too loud he would erase whatever progress Emma had just made in diagnosing herself.

"Hmm?" Emma turned to him slowly, her eyes glazed with an emotion Steven was familiar with in the early days of his relationship with Maleficent; guilty longing.

"Come, we need to talk." Steven touched Emma's arm hesitantly. He did not grab her, merely gestured towards the path that would lead them back into the castle and allowed her to decide if she would join him.

Emma wiped away the reluctant tear that escaped her eye before forcing herself to peer gratefully at Steven. He hadn't pushed. He would let her come to him with what she needed. He was a good man and a better friend. She was grateful to have him even if she was suddenly terrified that she might lose him.

Emma bowed her head and left the garden sure that Steven was right behind her. The warm touch of his hand at the small of her back was the best comfort she could ask for.

End Chapter Eighteen

Author's Note: So it has once again been forever since I've updated this story. I do apologize for the long wait. But I am thankful, grateful, and VERY appreciative to everyone who has read this story and continues to do so. It's always heartening to see emails where people begin following or favorite this story even though it hasn't been updated in quite some time.

I'm doing the best I can with writing updates. So instead of 20+ pages a chapter I can do 10(+) and get them up faster. Let me know what you prefer. Longer chapters that take longer or shorter chapters that don't.

As always, thank you for reading and sticking with the story (and me).