Author's Note: Most of this chapter will deal with Regina's side of the battle prep and why keeping Raceen is so important to the expansion of Regina's kingdom. As well as Emma's actions. I apologize if this seems unimportant. There are reasons for my madness (delays and detail) for the prep before the battle. The preparations on each side are important to keep note of as some of the details explained will come back as the story continues.

A grand thank you to Mooglesmuse for her continued assistance with this story.

Chapter 21
'Above All Else'

-.-.-.-.-

"My Queen, my Queen!" A young man no more than fifteen came rushing into the bustling war room waving a parchment about like a flag.

He bent at the waist when he finally came to stand in front of Regina. But only for a moment. A moment where he sucked in a deep breath, shot up to stand straight and proud before decreeing: "The Primrose First Guard has been seen leaving the Primrose Palace."

Regina turned her eyes to Raul at the news. His features were drawn, pale even. The sight sent a pang of unease straight to Regina's heart. She did not know the capabilities of the Primrose First Guard but from Raul's expression their abilities were not to be overlooked.

Regina quickly snatched the parchment from the boy and waved him away with both a flick of her wrist and a "Dismissed."

She peered at the parchment before handing it to Raul, hoping he could decipher what it meant for their men in Raceen.

Raul growled as he crumpled up the paper. "They'll be slaughtered." He announced and the officers around the room said nothing. They had hushed to an eerie silence at the messenger's announcement. Now they too seemed as worried as Regina felt.

"By how much are they outnumbered?" Regina inquired, moving to their map to see just how many troops they had in Raceen and any of the nearby villages or towns that might be able to send reinforcements or any form of aid.

"Two hundred, if not more." Regina winced at the news, her teeth biting deeply into her cheek.

"Is there no way for reinforcements to reach them? If we sent riders from Briary?" Briary was one of the larger cities that had pledged themselves to her and had one of the larger legions at her disposal.

Regina peered at the map that took up the length of the oval table. The nearest village with troops was three hours away by horse, even if they cut through territory that was not under Regina's reign. She knew Raul's answer before he spoke it.

"No, Majesty. They would arrive too late."

Regina had handled the political upheaval this battle was going to cause an hour before. She had handled it as best she could. She had contacted each of the Kingdoms, including Primrose. She had hoped to speak with Aurora but had been unable to find the Queen with Sealy's help. She was forced to speak with Phillip and as she had predicted their conversation had not gone well.

In truth the only conversation that had gone well was with Snow White and King James, which surprised Regina immensely. Snow White listened to every heartfelt plea she offered and twice came to her defense against Phillip when the King accused her of manipulating them.

Alexandra had spoken on behalf of the Enchanted Kingdom. The Princess wasn't as practiced with military matters and her lack of education was obvious. She too often referred to councilmen that were present during the impromptu meeting Regina had called. Regina felt Alexandra had been cheated and she hardly knew the reigning Princess who, if rumors were true, was to be ordained as Queen soon.

The Enchanted Kingdom and the White Kingdom promised to remain neutral in the situation. It was all Regina could ask of them. She truly did seek peace between their Kingdoms and she felt that they might be one step closer to believing her now. If only Phillip would see that she meant no one any harm.

Regina wondered idly if Snow's change of tune had something to do with Merryweather's stay at the White Castle. The fairy had finally returned from her trip over the seas to Chin. The fairy had spent four days at the White Castle—if Regina were to believe the information her spies sent her.

Regina did not know what it might mean for her and Snow if the (formally) younger woman were to believe her story; her true tale of the past. If Snow came to believe that Regina had truly worked for years on Snow's behalf and in the end had been burned (unconsciously so) by Snow it could change everything. If Snow believed that Regina had killed King Leopold for his actions against her, his 'evil deeds' was there any room for them to reconcile? Regina had raised Snow with love in her heart for many years. That love was still present even if it had been buried and lessened by the pain Snow had inadvertently caused her.

Regina knew she could never love Snow as she had once before, but she cared for the woman. Her heart had just been too easily consumed by darkness. Vengeance had consumed her every waking thought. Sometimes Regina still felt that hatred burn in her chest but it did so less frequently and was more accurately directed to Leopold, may he continue to rot in Tarturus.

Regina had never truly had time to consider Snow in the years she had been gone. Regina knew she had changed since her departure. Maybe Snow saw that in her. Truly saw it, and trusted in it just like her father had. Her father had been the one to tell her she was ready to return and to seek forgiveness, and even grant it. He truly thought she was ready.

His belief that she not only was ready to forgive, but was a person who could be forgiven had nearly sealed the deal on her return. His influence was one of the only reasons she had sought to return. He had always been very fond of Snow, even after learning she was responsible—in her own unique way—for playing a part in his flesh and blood grand-child's death.

Regina brushed away the thoughts of her father and focused. She needed to focus.

"What of Maleficent's army, she would be happy to spare some to us if our need is dire." Regina knew her friend would send aide if it were possible for her soldiers to reach the area before Regina's.

"Her city of Mirdilay has a compliment of over a hundred men. They are less than a seventy kilometers journey from Raceen. If they were to leave immediately they might just beat the Primrose forces." Raul sighed, "But they would still be overrun by three to one."

Regina hit her fists against the top of the table twice, her breathing quickening as her body temperature rose. There had to be something she could do. They could not abandon the men and women of Raceen. Not when they had only defended themselves against raiders from Hoymel.

Raceen was one of the Regina's Kingdom's bigger ports. The benefits of that city were immense as it helped the Dark Kingdom control a waterway system for trade up as far as the Grassland Mountains and as low as the White Kingdom border with the ocean. Regina knew that control of such a waterway worried the other Kingdoms and was probably why Phillip had sent the raiders to begin with. He wanted control of that river again.

Hoymel was much smaller than Raceen with less space and fewer people, thus a much smaller port. Still, it was valuable, which is why Regina had not raised any brows when she'd gotten word that small compliments of soldiers had been arriving at the city. It was wise of Phillip to protect his investment in Hoymel, show support to gain Hoymel's favor. It was a sound tactic and had been ignored. Until Hoymel had attacked.

Regina peered at the map as if it would begin speaking to her and give her the solution she sought. Her eyes saw something and zeroed in on it. Her finger ran over the map, her nail grazing over the Ruin symbol on the map. This particular symbol meant there was an abandoned temple of the Gods and Goddess of old in that area.

"Hmm…" Regina's mind raced with possibilities while the men around her began to voice their own ideas. None of them were plausible as one after another each idea was shot down due to one flaw or another. The men did not become unkind, just frenzied.

"…if we sent them over the water we might…"

"Yes! The river!"

"They could travel by the river cut hours off their travel."

"General." Regina spoke, her voice soft as her lifted her hand from the map.

"No that can't work,"

"What?"

"No time to argue man!"

"General…"

"It won't work."

"Why?"

"We haven't the ships."

"Blast it!"

"General Raul!" The men swallowed anything more they were going to say. Too frightened at the sight of their Queen's flushed face and quivering fist which had black and purple sparks popping around it like black powder.

"Majesty?" General Raul nervously spoke, the sound of his rough voice soft even to his ears.

"You have your best men here at the castle." It wasn't a question, just a statement, but the General answered it for her anyway as she made her way towards the window that overlooked the soldiers barracks.

"Yes, Majesty."

Regina tried to figure the number out herself but could not be sure if she was accurate or not and time was running thin. "How many?"

General Raul looked to his brother for an approximate number. His brother held up nine fingers as subtly as he could. "Above nine hundred strong, Majesty."

Regina nodded, turning her back to the window. "And the men at Raceen number, a hundred and fifty? They will be up against three to four hundred of Primrose's best?"

"That is correct." The General did not know where she was attempting to lead him by this slow question and answer session, but he continued to play along even as he fidgeted.

Regina played around with the numbers in her head. If Maleficent could send the hundred men from Mirdilay they would need at least another two to three hundred to match, if not over power, the Primrose forces. Right now Regina would be happy with matching the Primrose forces, because two to three hundred was pushing it.

Regina looked to the General's younger brother. "Colonel Rickman," He stood at attention and 'aye, Majesty'ed her immediately. "Tell the three hundred best of your troops to prepare for battle. We leave at the end of the hour."

Colonel Richman stared dumbfoundedly at his Queen. His expression mirrored on many of the men's faces around the room.

"Ha-how is that my Queen?" The piercing look Regina spared him made him feel foolish for even asking such an insipid question.

"Magic of course, Colonel." Regina smiled her tone becoming impatient. "Now must I repeat myself or will you…"

"No ma'am. Your Majesty, ma'am." He bowed low, his arms tight at his side before he stalked out of the room swiftly. He would not ask specifics. He did not need to know how the Queen intended to transport three hundred men half way across the realm.

"Men, prepare for battle. We leave at the end of the hour and will appear here." Regina pointed to the wooden area closest to the Ruins symbol. "I will not be able to bring with us more than the three hundred men and ourselves. It is still a distance from Raceen. I need ideas on formations and attack points and I need them now gentleman." Regina put a castle piece above the ruin symbol on the map. It put them only 20 kilometers from Raceen. Regina wasn't sure she would be able to pull horses as well as men. If she couldn't they would need to run the distance with enough energy to fight when they arrived, which called for their best, and only their best.

Five of the six remaining officers were as quick as Colonel Rickman to converge on the round table before them. They needed a strategy that would help them protect the city and its people while also putting them at the tactical advantage against the Primrose army. If their Queen was certain of the impending battle they would not take such news lightly. They had much to prepare for and little time to do it.

While they spoke of strategy Regina left the room to prepare the ingredients she would need for the spell that was going to send her and her army well over an eight hundred kilometer distance. She would consult with Maleficent. Perhaps her friend would be willing to assist her with the spell. Time was running out.

General Raul watched his Queen depart, and hoped she was not putting her life and the lives of their army on the line for one port city.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Sealy!" Regina called for the mirror as she stalked into her private study. She walked towards the far wall of the large room where the only mirror hung. The skirt of her dress disappeared in a grey mist of smoke leaving her in skin tight leather pants.

"Yes, my Queen?" The man's image floated ethereally within the five foot rectangular looking glass at eye level.

"Maleficent. Find her." She did not explain why. Sealy knew well what her current plight was.

"Right away, Majesty." His image disappeared slowly from the mirror as if he were slowly backing away out of sight.

Regina paced anxiously in front of the mirror, suddenly wishing she hadn't changed out of her dress. It would have been a nice stress reliever to grip at her skirt and angrily thrash it from side to side as she marched to and fro.

Around her hands her magic crackled. She flexed her fingers, cracking them as the sparks shot out further and faster the more anxious she became.

"What have you decided?"

Regina nearly stumbled at the sound of Maleficent's voice. It wasn't disembodied as if the blonde witch was speaking to her from a reflective surface half a world away. Rather it sounded as if she were within the room with her.

Spinning on the back of her heels Regina saw she wasn't inaccurate in her description. Maleficent wasn't staring at her through a mirror but with her own two eyes no more than two feet away.

"Must you sneak up on me like that?" Regina raged, allowing her frustration to seep through.

"When you are about to go to war with Phillip, yes, I must break some rules."

As a rule of thumb Regina only kept one body length mirror in her castle. Maleficent thought it unwise for her to keep it located in her private study as any powerful witch worth her salt could (attempt) to come through it. Knowing this Regina kept a protective barrier around the mirror so that if any unwanted guests tried to storm her castle through the solitary mirror they would make it a foot before freezing in place, frozen in time, until she decided how to deal with them.

"It is not war." At least, not yet. War was the last thing she wanted to come of this. She hadn't even wanted to fight the King at all. She would much rather have discussed it with him in person then send hundreds of boys—because many of her soldiers were hardly even men—to what could be their deaths.

"Do not delude yourself. He will make this cause for war." Maleficent hated how pig headed Phillip could be. For a time he had been a grand ruler for his people, though Maleficent would never speak the praise aloud. That time though had long since ended. The charming and awe struck boy so madly in love with a slumbering Princess had become a chauvinistic power hungry aging man.

"Damn it, Fee!" Regina growled in frustration, throwing her arms into the air. The visible magical static around her wrists spread to encompass most of her arms, any movements made left a trail of visible light behind.

"Regina, darling, breathe." Maleficent stepped into Regina's path and grabbed onto her friend's shoulders. She winced, swallowing a hiss of pain as Regina's magic licked at her skin the touch freezing the top layer of her skin so fiercely that it burned. "Close your eyes. Breathe in deeply. Hold it. Release it slowly, push it out, harder, more…there you go."

Regina followed Maleficent's instructions; sucking in a deep breath and expelling it till there was nothing in her lungs, before repeating it again. After she exercised her lungs a fourth time the magic around her faded back down to her hands. The skin of her palms still glowed an ethereal magenta color.

"There, just breathe. You need to calm down, remain level headed." Maleficent cupped Regina's cheek, her smile supportive as she allowed her hands to drop away from the irate witch. "Tell me your plan."

"They will be swarmed. Killed. All of them. Innocent men and women. They do not deserve…"

"Your plan, Regina. Not the scenarios you've concocted in your head, I can see those plainly. Your people need you level headed. Not crazed."

Regina took a few more deep breaths as Maleficent rubbed at her forearms to keep her calm. "I need the men from your nearest village. At least a hundred of them. They need to leave immediately. I also need supplies, healers sent. They do not need to be as quick as the soldiers."

Maleficent nodded her head. She snapped her fingers together, the sound echoing around Regina's study. In the center of the room a frazzled soldier appeared, trembling as he shot his head from side to side to decipher his location. When he saw Maleficent and Regina he fell to his knee, one arm crossed over his chest and head bowed.

"My Queens."

"Send your best men to Raceen, ride hard, the Dark Kingdom's men need your aid. Send a supply wagon behind you with food and supplies."

Before the man could even question or answer her Maleficent snapped her finger and around him sparks of lightning and static electricity shot off as he disappeared. She turned to Regina as if expecting her friend to be impressed.

"There. Done. What else?" Maleficent waited, noting how stiff Regina became.

"I need your assistance."

"You will always have it." Maleficent swore, knowing that if Regina was slow to tell her of what she needed it wasn't an ordinary favor. Maleficent squeezed Regina's forearm, ducking her head so that her friend would meet her eyes. "What is it you need?"

"In order to get enough men there in time to mount any form of defense I need to use the Ruins located just south of the city."

Maleficent's eyes widened and she leaned away from Regina in shock. "Ruins, from one of the Old Temples?"

Regina bowed her head, knowing how sacred and powerful such ruins were. They were all but left alone by many of the Kingdoms, left to fade and rot away with the passage of time. The ground had swallowed many of the temples that worshiped the Gods and Goddesses of old. Others were hidden under the growth of greenry. Their stones fallen and statues defaced and cracking. Some villages maintained the temples if there were worshipers.

There were advantages to having Ruins nearby for those magically inclined. There was a great power derived from any Ruins as they connected to a powerful magic that transcended time and even the dimensions. Regina had seen similar temples in the non-magical world she'd traveled to and even there she could feel the kiss of magic. It was by using the aged magic left over from one of the largest temples still intact in the other world that she had been able to return to this world.

Regina, unlike many of those from her generation, still believed in the Old Ones, the Gods and Goddesses of old. Queen Lily had instilled the belief of their existence and power when she tutored Regina. Maleficent thought her crazy for her beliefs but not even she could question the power the Ruins maintained, even after all these years.

Regina and Lily were not the only ones who knew of the power left behind in the Ruins. The Fairies lived over one of the last remaining underground temples. The power supply left within the Ruins was how the fairies helped maintain their magic.

"You can only use the Ruins if you have a secondary one, conduits that connect." At least that was what Maleficent could recall from her lessons on natural magic. It was why the power in the underground temple Blue Fairy utilized was a never ending well of magic. She sucked the power from the other Ruins when she needed more. That way her well would never run dry.

"Where are the nearest Ruins from here?" Maleficent asked, knowing Regina would be aware of the nearest location.

Regina had mapped them out years before she had left this realm. It was a hobby of sorts that wasn't vengeful in nature like chasing after Snow and her Prince Charming. It had been good for Regina. It wasn't until after Regina left that Maleficent realized Regina used the magic found in the Ruins to transport herself and her father to another realm. It wasn't that Maleficent hadn't known of the Ruins power but she hadn't thought anything more of them than old shabby temples that were unkempt and gave off creepy vibes. The magic was there. The power, but it was untouchable.

Untouchable until Regina tapped into the magic they exuded, something only Blue Fairy had thus been able to do.

Blue Fairy used the Ruins as a generator. The fairy could not manipulate the energy herself. Maleficent wouldn't be surprised if Regina could. Regina already had, in a way. Without the added power from the Ruins Regina never would have been able to transport on her power alone between worlds. It wasn't just power that Regina took from the Ruins. Regina would have had to manipulate the magic to her will to make it open a rift between worlds.

It was with that knowledge, knowledge Maleficent had gained 18 years ago, that she realized just how powerful and in-tune her friend was with the magic Queen Lily had taught her all those years ago. The white magic, the natural magic, which only a select few could control. And if their lessons on natural magic were to be believed no one as black hearted as Regina was rumored to be could control such magic.

It gave Maleficent hope back then. Hope that her friend would find herself even though she had left. It gave her hope that no one was un-savable, that there was a chance for them all, to find happiness and goodness once again. If Regina could do it, then why couldn't she?

So, she had done it. She'd found happiness and goodness in her mended relationship with Aurora and her romantic relationship with Steven.

"Within the castle walls." Regina revealed. Maleficent's eyes widened.

"You have Ruins on the premises?" Maleficent had never seen them. "You lie…tell me you lie." Maleficent almost begged. She had been to this castle countless times and walked the grounds well over a hundred of those times. She had never seen Ruins anywhere here.

"This was Queen Lily's castle." Regina reminded, her tone saying of course there would be Ruins nearby.

It was why Regina had taken over this particular castle during her reign as Queen, even though it left her farther away from the largely populated cities of the White Kingdom.

"Of course that wicca would build a castle over an Old temple." Maleficent mumbled rolling her eyes. This was certainly going to be interesting. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to create a portal at the other location while I open one here. We need to keep it open until the last man goes through."

Maleficent raised a questioning brow, "How many men exactly?"

"Three hundred."

Maleficent cringed and shook her head. "How do you expect me to keep the portal open for that long? I cannot tap into the Ruins magic as easily as you can." Maleficent was hard pressed to admit it, but in this instance she wasn't sure she'd be able to help Regina.

"I have a potion," Regina moved away from Maleficent towards the large desk that manipulated the center of the room by the fire place. To the right of the fireplace was a painting of Queen Lily that Regina had never been able to take down. She waved her hand and the portrait disappeared, behind it was a false wall. Regina pulled a lever found in the cut out portion of the wall. There was a strong hiss of air as the wall itself popped away from the foundation, and Regina pushed it to reveal a small passageway.

"You learn something new every day." Maleficent mumbled to herself as she followed Regina down the dark passageway. The air around them was stale, and covered in dust and spider webs, suggesting that Regina hadn't been in this particular room since before she had left.

Regina waved her hand and the dust around the room disappeared and the torches lit themselves. Maleficent's eyes adjusted and when they did she realized she was in a potions lab. There was a cauldron against the left wall with test tubes and vials. Along the right a book case of nothing but vials. Vials of different colored spells and potions the likes of which Maleficent had never heard.

Regina ran her finger over her own handwriting as she looked for the particular potion she needed. "The potion will multiply your powers but only for a short time. It will be long enough for us to keep the portal open." Regina bit her bottom lip, suddenly worried that she didn't have the potion she required.

"My Gods Regina, when did you make these?" And why hadn't she known about it?

"I couldn't sleep." For years Regina was plagued with nightmares over her actions. She had spent countless nights here looking over Lily's old spell book and creating replicas of her potions or creating her own.

Maleficent recalled the years Regina arrived with dark, black circles under her eyes, so dark not even her magic could cover them. It was the early years, just after she'd killed Leopold and she was doubting her path of revenge against Snow. Maleficent never did learn what kept Regina on the path. Maleficent had been sure Regina would abandon it, unable to stomach what she'd need to do to get her revenge.

"Did you make this room?" Maleficent asked as she browsed the small bookcase and pulled a worn blue bound book from the shelf.

"No, Lily did. You know how Leopold was about her magic. She needed a place where she could practice in peace. This was it." Regina gestured around with her hand vaguely as she continued to scour the shelves for the potion.

Maleficent nodded her head as she flipped through the browning pages of the book, noting that the handwriting inside was Lily's.

"My study was once her private chambers. She and I were the only ones who knew of this room. I took this castle for this room and for the Ruins hidden in the third stable."

A tactical decision even Maleficent did not recognize. She should have known there was a grander reason for Regina's choice. There always was. With Ruins here it made it easier for Regina to keep her spell active and keep the castle hidden from unwanted eyes.

Maleficent looked up as if realizing something, "Third stable?" There were only two on the property unless… "You mean the burnt down stables?"

"Yes," Regina looked briefly over her shoulder, "beneath them is one of the remaining underground temples."

Maleficent snapped the book shut, the sound echoing in the room. She put the book back on the shelf and turned accusing eyes to Regina. "Why have you never spoken of this before?"

"I've never told anyone save my father about the Ruins." Regina admitted. She only told her father about the Ruins the day before she used them to transport the two of them elsewhere. "It was a secret that I kept for Lily."

"Who has been dead for decades!" Maleficent glared at her friend. She did not appreciate Regina keeping secrets from her.

"It did not matter, Fee." Regina looked away from the shelves to meet her friend's eyes. "Lily asked me to never speak of this room, or the Ruins, unless the situation was dire." Maleficent crossed her arms over her chest, unforgiving. Regina sighed, "I keep my promises, Fee. If there is anything I should be remembered for, it is that I keep my promises. I keep my word." Regina stressed. Not doing so had cost her too much when she was far too young to handle the losses.

Maleficent's eyes softened as Regina's eyes glazed over and she could hear sudden thoughts of Calla and Daniel. She heard Regina ponder within her own mind what would have been if she hadn't told Snow about her plans so early. If she had waited to tell Snow about her departure. Would Daniel and Calla be alive if she had? They could be together and Snow could live happily ever after with her Prince Charming and her children while Regina lived on a horse breeding farm with her own family. There were thoughts of disgust and uncertainty that Maleficent couldn't truly understand in great detail filtering through Regina's mind. She could only catch how Regina's thoughts moved between Daniel and Emma and those thoughts brought the uncertainty, disgust, and adoration.

The thoughts filtered endlessly through Regina's mind and Maleficent's. Discarding the book Maleficent wrapped her arms around Regina and hugged her. She kissed the top of her head and wiped the single tear that had escaped Regina's eyes.

"Trust that you can tell me anything."

Regina swallowed thickly shrugging out of Maleficent's embrace, her back bumping into the book case, the vials upon the shelves ringing as they shook. She turned just in time to catch a teetering vial. As she looked at the silver liquid it shimmered at her, the strip of paper against the vial reading: vox magis. She smiled as she looked at the bottle and then Maleficent. It was the one she needed.

Clutching the vial tightly Regina decided to tell Maleficent a secret that wasn't her own. "There's something you need to know about Emma…"

Maleficent's eyebrow raised in silent curiosity.

-.-.-.-.-

Aurora walked Penelope to Emma's rooms. She kept her head high and shoulders straight. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. At her side Penelope was silently crying. Their hands grasped tightly as they moved through their castle.

When Penelope mentioned wanting to see Emma the Queen had diverted them towards the part of the castle where Emma's rooms were. Originally Phillip had no interest in Emma marrying Steven and had put them on opposite ends of the castle from each other. By the time he had changed his opinion on the pair; Emma was already comfortable in her rooms and wouldn't be moved to any other ones.

Aurora would not admit it, not aloud, but she was angry. Angry that Emma had not come to see Steven off. She knew Emma would not agree with the attacks but to be so blatant in her disregard for the lives of the soldiers going off to fight against Regina was uncalled for.

If nothing else Emma had pretenses to keep up. Aurora knew, somewhere in herself, that her anger was just misplaced to Emma, but that part was too small to care at the moment. It latched onto the outlet and fueled the fire as quickly as possible.

When they reached the hallway that led to Emma's rooms, Penelope's pace quickened. It was as they were practically racing down the hall, her arm being tugged on by Penelope as she led the way, that Aurora noticed the guards outside Emma's door. What were they doing there? Still? Hadn't Captain Dylan given them the message? Emma was free to move about the castle.

As they arrived at the door Aurora's anger was once again displaced and the men standing guard immediately realized their misfortune when their eyes met Aurora's furious blue eyes. They snapped to attention, their bodies stiff and rigid as they stood before their Queen and Princess.

"Why are you here?"

Penelope did not stay to listen to Aurora talk with the guards. She released her mother's hand and went into Emma's rooms without even knocking, leaving the door slightly parted.

"Emma…!" Her call for the other Princess echoed out into the hallway.

"Orders from the King, my Queen." The older of the two guards replied.

"Those orders were rescinded before he left." Aurora watched both men peek at each other uncertainly as if they did not believe her words.

"I am sorry, Majesty."

Aurora ground her teeth together. "You will allow her free of her rooms or…"

"Mom, mom, momma!" Penelope chanted as she came bursting out of Emma's room and tossed herself against her mother. "Emma's not here."

Aurora's eyes widened as she kneeled down in front of her daughter and watched as over her shoulder the two guards burst into Emma's room as if to confirm what Penelope had said.

"She must be in the gardens." Aurora assured Penelope, hoping that Emma was in the gardens and hadn't done anything rash.

Penelope nodded, sniffling back her tears. She retook Aurora's hand ready to go back in search of Emma.

"You gentlemen are relieved of your duties for the rest of the night." Aurora told both men who appeared at the door at the same time, sheepish expressions upon their faces. Served them, and Phillip, right for locking the girl in her rooms. Foolish men.

-.-.-

Aurora and Penelope did find Emma in the gardens. She was sitting on the same bench Aurora found her in earlier that day. Her head was bowed and her hands clasped tightly on her lap. As they got closer Aurora saw the tears falling from Emma's eyes and how her shoulders shook with her silent sobs.

Emma's lips moved as if she were speaking to someone. It was as they got closer that Aurora realized Emma was talking to someone, but it wasn't someone or something anyone could see. She was offering a prayer.

Instead of going to comfort the girl, Aurora held onto Penelope's shoulder, stopping her daughter from interrupting the Princess. Penelope looked up at her in confused outrage, but she noticed that far away expression on her mother's face and Emma's posture, and sighed. Instead of going to comfort Emma she followed her mother back to her own rooms where they laid on her bed and Penelope cried herself into a fitful slumber.

Aurora remained in Penelope's room for only a short time more. There were far too many things to be done. They had to prepare for an influx of people.

The grand hall was being emptied and cots readied for refugees of the attacked city. She would have loved to remain in Penelope's chambers watching her daughter sleep and relish in the comfort it could bring. But she had responsibilities to attend to so she left behind Aurora, the distraught mother and wife, and became the regal Queen she was born to be. She had to help prepare her castle, and her Kingdom, for what the evening light would bring them.

-.-.-.-

Emma stood up slowly from the bench and wiped away her tears. She bowed her head once more to the stone statue of her grandmother surrounded by bloomed calla lilies. There were many statues of Kings and Queens from Primrose but some from other Kingdoms as well. There was a familial relation between Emma's grandmother and Aurora's family, she could just not recall the family tree at the moment. Her mind plagued with her need to leave and follow behind the First Guard.

Clearing her throat Emma looked around the garden cautiously. Making sure no one saw her she made her way around the castle grounds to the secondary stables.

Once inside the stables she found the satchel and sack that Steven kept her cloak, armor and weapons in. It was hidden underneath boards beneath a hay stack. She put her leather body armor on, the material light. It would help her keep from being injured too severely. She didn't have the time to find real body armor that would fit her. She would just have to stick with the padded armor she used while sparing.

She put her green cloak on, the enchanted properties of the silk making the material shine brightly for a moment as it settled around her. She pulled up her hood with a deft snap. With the hood up no one would recognize her thanks to the disillusion spell attached to the cloak—a parting gift from Blue Fairy since Emma wore it to sneak away to her lessons with the Fairy.

Emma put her bow over her head; made certain the arrows were encased, and then tightened the quiver against her back. With her scabbard attached to a belt around her waist and her daggers stuffed away in her boots and in the inseams of her padded body armor, she was ready.

She mounted a horse she and Steven often rode named Flint for its color, and left the stables at a steady trot. She would not draw attention to herself.

In the sky the sun was dipping lower in the sky.

The hustle of the castle had tripled with this incident the castle grounds were being prepared for refuges as was the capital city just outside the castle walls. Even with the flurry of activity no one stopped her to ask questions. Everyone was too busy with their own tasks to mind what looked like a hunter leaving the grounds.

Emma was able to ride out the castle gates, albeit through a less used passage she and Steven used while sneaking off castle grounds. She was less than an hour behind the First Guard.

Once outside the gates she clicked her heels against Flint's sides and urged him to gallop as fast as he could.

A battle awaited them all.

End Chapter Twenty One

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the bits of history I've revealed and new forms of magic wheedling its way back into the story since I mentioned it forever ago back in Chapter Eight 'History Repeated'. Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and of course reviews. :-) This story is by far the most popular one I've posted here on this website. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to breaking the 300 barrier for reviews. Last story to do that was on another site and the story was twice as long as this one for my AMC OTP (Bianca and Maggie). I was SOOOO thrilled to see a 200th favorite. I'm actually holding my breath waiting to see if it will reach 500 follows because that would be AWESOME! You are all incredible and I might have stopped writing this story a while ago if it weren't for some of you fantastic and supportive readers. :-D

Oh. I wanted to run this by you!

For chapter 22 I propose a challenge of sorts to you lovely readers/writers. Chapter 22 is one of the longest chapters I've written for this story and by far one of my favorites and thus one I'm most invested in. It is also complete. I hope to post it within the next 7 to 10 days. The chapter will leave off on a cliff hanger. There are over 30 pages to the battle that cut between everyone involved in it.

So here is the challenge. If chapter 22 gets 30 reviews (or more—essentially a review per page) I will post chapter 23 the day of that 30th review even if it's the same day that I posted chapter 22. It might entice you more to know that chapter 23 is essentially Swan Queen and Steven/Maleficent centered (after concluding the drama that 22 leaves everyone off at of course). Are you interested? :-D

Oh and does anyone have a good moniker for Steven/Maleficent? Any ideas given I'll put up on a poll so it can be decided there. :-)

Again, thank you for reading and taking this ride with me.

Oh and please be sure to check out SwanQueenWeek taking place on Tumblr, starting on Sunday!