"You know I'll always protect you right?" she had her eyes cast to the ceiling, her thoughts spilling out into words as the events of the night ran like looped videos through her mind. One arm was draped across her stomach whilst the other lay in the space between them, "that I'll do anything it takes to keep you safe?'
And she knew, Regina knew this all too well. "Em?" came the slightly deeper voice from beside her. The blonde was glad to discover that the earlier quiver was gone and her speech was steadier now. She flinched as she turned her head to find the soft endings of a brunette braid tickling her nose. Despite the child like effect the hair style gave the sixteen year old, Regina always seemed to wear her dark locks in the eye-watering tight design and after what Emma had witnessed tonight, she had no doubt that it was merely another way for Cora to exert her power and control over her daughter…well not anymore.
The brunette felt a tingling sensation on her scalp as nimble fingers worked to unravel the braid. Regina couldn't help the him of satisfaction as she felt the tension on the roots of her hair completely diminishing as Emma continued to work her hands through it soothingly.
The next, and only sound, that filled the room was that of a body slowly sliding beneath the covers as Regina turned to face Emma, the moonlight gleaming in from the window behind the blonde glinted in dark eyes and lit up the trail of tears that told the story of a girl who had remained strong for far too long.
They lay in silence for a while, both simply studying the other, one hand lay beneath pillow warmed cheeks whilst the other lay in the small space between them, little fingers grazing slightly as they moved them together.
Green eyes trailed over a strong brow, a slightly creased forehead, tear reddened cheeks and finally soft set lips. The same lips through which the most barbed and humorous of comments had been released, out of which gentle confessions of adoration had been spoken into kiss heated air and from which the final whimper of defeat had fallen as Cora's wrath truly struck. Regina had been sure that she was going to die, that her mother would continue with her 'punishments' until the blissful darkness had taken her…but instead, it was the light.
The golden light of blonde strands tickling her cheek as her limp body was lifted from the ground, the lightness of the cloth stained a vibrant red as blood had pulsed from the open wound on her top lip. The blinding sun as Emma had carried her effortlessly from her prison and into freedom. She wasn't sure what they were going to do, how they could evade her mother or if they would even be successful but, as she inched closer and took the blondes fingers between her own, she knew she was finally safe.
"Thank you, my saviour."