DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: finally an update. sorry it took a week, but life got hectic as it often does. the next update is already ready and will be posted tomorrow. enjoy and review.

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-Chapter 16: I Wasn't Jealous Before We Met-

Regina woke with the dawn. The Queen was sleeping beside her, their naked bodies entwined under the sheets. She stroked the tender flesh of the younger woman's thigh, wishing more than anything else at this moment that she could wake her up, that their mouths could come together with the same hunger they'd felt the night before. She had no doubt that Emma would be agreeable to the situation, but she had already learned that it was futile to attempt to wake her. She leaned forward and kissed unresponsive lips softly, then peppered kisses up her jaw and down her neck. "I love you so much."

She untangled herself from the younger woman rather reluctantly and sat up. With a snap of her fingers and a little magical assistance, she was dressed once again. She glanced over her shoulder at the slumbering blonde. They could maybe afford one more day here, let the army move past their location and sneak around behind them. They wouldn't expect fugitives to be following them. It was a risky one, but unfortunately, it was also their safest option.

She got up and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She crept down to the first floor of the cabin and back to the kitchen. It didn't surprise her that Rhea was up; the girl had always been an early riser when she was young, why should she be any different now?

Rhea immediately began making her a cup of tea when she saw her enter. "Did you sleep well my Queen?"

"The room was adequate, thank you."

"I trust it was to her liking as well?" Rhea hung the kettle over the fire to heat the water.

Regina could hear the dismay in her voice. Had this been thirty years ago, the woman's infatuation might have flattered her. She wasn't a bad looking woman by any means and Regina would have relished seizing her, bedding her made all the more satisfying by the fact that she already had a husband and was therefore spoken for. But now it just annoyed her. She was spoken for herself, and the woman was pushing the limits of her patience, especially since it was distressing Emma in a time where she needed to be as unstressed as possible. "She was a little…distracted, but I'm sure it met her standards."

The kettle began to whistle and Rhea pulled in forcibly off the heat. Regina could tell the woman was upset with the implication of her words, but she cared little. She needed to hear the truth and get over her little crush.

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The woman in the white cloak watched the cabin from a distance. It had wards preventing her from getting too close, but she could see everything she needed to from the distance well enough. The former King and the reigning Queen were faring quite well considering the enraged man leading the cavalry against them. Hadrian had been angrier than she'd assumed. He'd even forgotten about the servant girl, Daniela, who he'd locked in the dungeons upon her return from the dwarves without his wife in custody. He'd been furious with her, refusing to listen to reason. It was no matter, she'd escaped with her life and he was none the wiser.

She felt the sun warm her back as it rose above the horizon, peeking through the thick canopy of trees. It wouldn't be long before the Queen of the Enchanted Forest awoke. She hardly ever slept too long after dawn, and especially in these times, she would make every effort in the other world to get quickly back to this one.

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Emma awoke to the feeling of eyes on her. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking around, aware of the potential danger. Had Hadrian found them? Where was Regina? Was she hurt? But after a moment of worry, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. If Hadrian were here, Regina would be here protecting her. She got up from the bed, not caring about her distinct lack of clothing and went to the window. Something moved, far off, the briefest flash of white across her peripheral vision, but when she looked to where the flash had been, nothing was there. She narrowed her eyes at the spot, looking for something she might be missing, but there was nothing.

She rolled her eyes. She was being so paranoid. It was probably nothing more than a bird. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair and grabbed for her discarded clothes, slipping them back on. She exited the room and made her way downstairs.

There was no one in the common room so she made her way back to the small kitchen. Regina was sitting at the small dining table, Rhea was tending to some vegetables on the cutting board. There was an palpable tension in the air and Emma could easily guess why. She knew it was important for Regina to put an end to Rhea's interests before they got out of hand, but still, the woman was housing them from the men hot on their trail; it wouldn't do to alienate the only ally they had at the moment. She cleared her throat. "Good morning."

Regina looked over with a smile on her face. "Did you rest well?"

Emma nodded. She came over to the table and sat in the chair beside Regina's. She knew the former Evil Queen had a reputation she must present here. So she pretended her affections were all part of a ruse to get what she wanted from the Evil Queen and vice versa. She reached under the cover of the table and grabbed the brunette's hand from her lap. She let her face betray none of what she was feeling in the pit of her stomach as Regina delicately traced the outline of her hand. It had been difficult enough yesterday to explain to Rhea why she was cavorting with her former sworn enemy's husband and daughter. It had been a shaky story at best about how they were just using each other as a means to an end. They both knew it would eventually come out, especially if they wanted to spend the rest of their days together, but right now it was more important to maintain Rhea's loyalties. A chunk of the Royal Army was camped somewhere in these woods and they couldn't risk Rhea sending Phinn out to find them and reveal their location. Speaking of Phinn…

"Where are my father and your husband? I had thought they'd be up by now."

Rhea nodded. "They rose before dawn and went out to scout the troops."

Emma tensed. "They what? They're going to get themselves caught, possibly killed! How could you have let them go?"

Rhea narrowed her eyes at the blonde Queen. "I am not my husband's keeper, nor your father's. They wanted to go and it is not my place to stop them. Fear not Your Highness, Phinn knows these woods better than any man in the entire Enchanted Forest. Should it be necessary, and they are spotted, he will keep your precious father from harm."

With the exception of the mayor of Storybrooke, Emma had never wanted to punch someone so badly. She felt the veins and muscles in her wrists go taught. It was times like these she wished she possessed Regina's skill with magic. And yet, maybe with her obvious tendency towards jealousy, it was better that she didn't know magic. She'd never known herself to be the jealous type, but then again, she never needed someone around this much before.

Rhea turned back to her task, either oblivious to the disfavour leaking from Emma's every pore or choosing to ignore it.

Regina took the break from observation as an opportunity to lean over and place a trail of kisses across Emma's jaw. "Behave my love." Her voice was so soft, barely even registering to Emma despite the fact that Regina was speaking directly into her ear.

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It was after the peak hour before the men returned from their scouting mission. Phinn was in the lead, followed closely by James, both looked rather distressed.

Emma was sitting in the common room waiting for them, turning the fragment of stone, once prized so highly, now nothing more than compacted sediment. Her mother could be alive. She had been so preoccupied in the escape from Port Emerald, the constant running, and, in the case of last night, Regina's body, to even consider what she had learned. Could she really have believed a lie this whole time?

The knock came at her bed chamber door. She'd been dreading it, counting the seconds, praying she would reach a million and beyond before it came. Daniela opened the door.

"Princess… I'm afraid the time has come."

Emma stared at her hands, wringing them in her lap, trying desperately not to lose her composure. He wouldn't be there to receive her, it would be up to Emma and she couldn't afford to lose it now. "She's arrived then?"

Daniela nodded. "They've delivered her to the throne room. They await your orders."

Emma took a deep breath and steeled herself against the burgeoning pain in her chest. She stood. "Very well. Let us go see to our guests."

The guests were a small contingent of guards, sixteen able bodied men. When she stepped into the room, they straightened, their backs ramrod straight. In their midst, she waited.

Emma walked around her slowly, inspecting every detail to make sure she hadn't been damaged during travel. It was quite remarkable, how identical this stone version of her was to the real thing.

"Would you see her positioned somewhere near the throne Your Grace? Or perhaps in the tower room where your father can see her?"

Emma looked over her shoulder at Daniela and shook her head sadly. "No. He sees her in his head every time he closes his eyes. It wouldn't do to facilitate the delusion." She turned back to the statue. "No, he'd want her to be where she was happiest. She deserves as much for her sacrifice." She looked to the leader of the escort. "She shall be put in the inner garden."

The guard gave a curt nod of understanding. He didn't question her authority, didn't wait to hear the order from King James, he just obeyed. It was the first time in her life Princess Emma had felt like the Queen she'd been bred to be, but it would hardly be the last.

Emma looked up as the men came trudging in. Noting their foul expressions, worry seized her heart. She stood from her chair. "What is it?"

James sighed. "Hadrian leads the troops himself. They've set up camp about ten leagues north of us. The size is… impressive."

Phinn rolled his eyes. "Impressive? Try staggering. I think he's brought the entire army with him, and all for three fugitives…" He shook his head in disbelief and headed off towards the kitchen.

Emma sighed. "Knowing Hadrian, he probably has brought a good chunk of it."

James shrugged, his boyish grin, the one Snow White had first fallen in love with, surfacing. "That only matters if they catch us before we reach the border. Once we enter into the Forbidden Forest the army will hinder him greatly. A man and two women he claims to be his daughters can easily slip through the cracks unnoticed. Hadrian can't quietly bring an entire army into a land he has no jurisdiction over. It will be his downfall, you'll see."

Emma nodded. What he said made sense, perfect sense actually. There was no denying that an army strolling into the Forbidden Forest would cause a stir. The south was known for its lawlessness and when a citizen of the Enchanted Forest wanted to disappear, that was where he went to do so. The residents wouldn't take kindly to Hadrian's military contingent. It would stall him immensely; it would give them time they desperately needed. But still she came back to one question: to what end? Hadrian would break through eventually. What then? Were they supposed to run for the rest of their lives?

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"It should not be this hard to find a girl and her half-wit father!" Hadrian slammed his fist down on the table that had been brought into the main tent. They'd been chasing Emma for two days now and he was tired of it.

"Sire, the Queen is well loved. There could be people aiding her."

Hadrian sighed, looking at the captain of his personal guard as if he were insufferably stupid. "There's no one but forest folk that live in any direction. There's no one to help her! She's out there; I can feel it." He paced the length of the table, back and forth in the small space the tent afforded him. "We must go about this differently." He gestured to the map spread out on the table. "They're heading for the southern border and the Forbidden Forest. She foolishly believes that will keep her safe. To pass through the border safely, she'll either need to go through Saltmire or Peppergrey." He nodded to himself. She could cross anywhere, but it would be foolish to just wander into the Forbidden Forest unattended; it'd be suicide. Even Emma wasn't crazy enough to risk that much of an unknown. She'd be on alert. He'd have to play this carefully if he hoped to catch her. "Darius, I need you and your troops to go to Saltmire. Station the troops all along the perimeter of the city and at every inn. There are men on watch at all times; I will not have her slip through my fingers once again for some man sleeping on the watch. If I hear of anyone being careless, the punishment will be severe. I will take my troops to Peppergrey and do the same."

"But Sire, if she knows we're there ahead of her, she might not proceed through the city."

Hadrian frowned, his jaw setting into a hard line. "Oh, she'll come. And we'll be waiting."

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Regina retired first. James had agreed to stay up and keep watch while the others slept, to be replaced by Phinn at the peak of the night. Rhea and Phinn followed shortly after Regina. Whatever the brunette had said to deter Rhea, it had certainly seemed to work. She'd been making eyes at Phinn all night and Emma had no doubt that though they were retiring for the night, there would be no sleeping going on in their room. They sat alone in the common room for a while, watching the candle burn down, neither quite knowing what to say. Finally, Emma decided to retire. They'd have time to air everything out in the time to come.

Regina attacked her the second she closed the door, kissing her fiercely as nimble fingers worked on the removal of her shirt. "I've been waiting for this all day."

Emma hummed contentedly as full lips migrated south to her neck. "For what?"

Regina nipped at the blonde's pulse point. "For you." The brunette's hand slid down the blonde's abdomen, moving slowly south. "For this."

Emma led Regina over to the bed, pushing her down onto the mattress before straddling her, her mouth seeking the older woman's in a fevered kiss. She pulled back as she felt the tug. No! Not now! She fought against it, but to no avail. She had enough time for an apology and one more kiss before she succumbed.