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

A/N:: okay, first of all, to address some of the anonymous reviews posted regarding the last chapter. i'm all for constructive criticism, my writing would never improve otherwise, however, it is not my job to coddle you. if the story is heading in a direction you do not like, it is at your discretion as to whether or not you wish to continue reading. if she was in love with august in this story and had agreed to go on a date with regina, no one would be complaining, you wouldn't say "hey that's fucked up. she loves august but she agreed to go out to dinner with regina", no you would be like "yay, swan queen". a date is NOT cheating in my book at all (the kiss is explained to regina in this chapter), and i understand that i may have looser principles than some of my readers, so all readers please be advised that this story is written based on MY views and the experiences I'VE had. like evil, love is not so black and white in the real world and that is what i'm trying to portray. i'm apologize to those upset by the chapter, it has a purpose, and i hope you continue to read. that being said, i am a swan queen shipper and this is a swan queen story with a swan queen ending, no need to get your knickers in a twist. august is a means to an end, nothing more.

now as to this chapter. i hope everyone enjoys it. and as always, review, if you feel so inclined.

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-Chapter 22: Forget Me, Go Your Own Way-

For the first time since the stronghold, Emma awoke without a feeling of urgency. There they had been tucked away from the cares of the world, allowed to be themselves as if the rest of the world didn't even exist. It had just been her, Regina, and their broken down fortress. There was a part of her that longed for that simplicity, to just hide away. She could have left with Regina right then. They would have been able to slip away unnoticed. There would have been speculation among her subjects, rumours that the Queen had befallen some unmentionable fate when she'd ventured alone into the countryside on a mission for her father. Hadrian would have been secure in his rule, which was all he really desired anyway. But her father…he is what had stopped her from taking that path. He would have perished in Hadrian's care. Maybe not right away, but eventually Hadrian's contempt would lead to her father being neglected and eventually he would have died. The thought turned her stomach. She couldn't have let him die just to spare herself the burden of running.

What Emma did wake with however, was a feeling of dread for what had happened in Storybrooke. August had kissed her. She hadn't kissed back, but she also hadn't stopped him. Why not? It seemed so... wrong now. She felt dirty, unclean. It meant nothing. August, and the boy he once was, meant nothing to her. At least not beyond the bounds of friendship. Were Pinocchio here right now, she wouldn't even be tempted to jump his bones. She loved Regina, of that she was certain. A sigh from under her pushed the guilt to the back of her mind.

Regina was still asleep and Emma nuzzled her neck. She was still laying on top of her, their naked bodies pressed intimately together, just as they had been when they'd fallen asleep the night before. This was what she was fighting for… the freedom to wake up like this every day for the rest of her life. It was all she wanted.

Regina's eyes fluttered open at her attentions. The brunette was becoming so attuned to her every move, it was comforting. "Mmm… is it morning already?"

There were no windows in the room to indicate the time of day, but she knew they had slept in. She'd gone to bed so late in the other world after all and that was a surefire indication that she would wake up late here. "Mid morning I'd wager."

Regina hummed contentedly and closed her eyes once more. "Let's stay in bed all day. How does that sound?"

Emma grinned. "That would be wonderful. I could spend all day devouring you." She placed soft kisses across the brunette's jaw line until she reached her lips and captured them in a searing kiss. She grazed her tongue ever so softly across the brunette's full bottom lip and was granted entrance, her tongue sliding into the warm cavern of her mouth.

Regina moaned into her mouth and turned them over, pushing Emma firmly down into the mattress as she crawled over her and deepened the kiss. Her hands slid possessively over the flesh that they'd conveniently left uncovered from the previous night's activities. Her fingers lingered over the sensitive flesh of the blonde's chest, slowly stroking the soft skin, coaxing muffled moans from the mouth still attached to her own. The questing fingers slid a path from the valley between her breasts to her navel, the skin shivering under her touch in anticipation of her ultimate destination.

"Regina." Emma pulled free of her lips to let her head fall back against the pillow, her eyes slamming shut. The name was an exaltation coming from between the blonde's lips.

Regina's hand slid further south still until her fingers dropped to where they were most needed.

Emma arched into the touch, meeting it with a grateful sigh. Her hands tangled in dark hair and pulled the other woman's mouth down to hers. She got lost in the feeling of Regina's velvety tongue caressing hers and her skilled fingers filling her up until she thought she would burst. She moaned into the older woman's mouth as her body kept pace with the brunette's ministrations.

As her orgasm hit, Emma's mouth fell away from Regina's, her eyes opening. Green locked with brown and as her body rode the high, Regina's eyes acted as her gravity. It didn't dull the pleasure by any means, merely combined the physical gratification with the emotional one of knowing she was loved.

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She wasn't sure how many hours they spent wrapped up in each other. Regina was an entirely new experience from either Hadrian or even Pinocchio. The few times she had shared a bed with Pinocchio had been the fumblings of teenage desire. They'd been fueled by hormones more than love. Everything was rushed and exaggerated. It wasn't ever unpleasant or anything. He'd felt good inside her and at the time she'd thought that was all sex was, just a good feeling here and there. Hadrian had done nothing to change her mind on the matter either. Her husband was all together quite a boring lover. Not that she'd ever encouraged him to be any more adventurous in the bed chamber. He'd show up once a week and they'd get on with it. It was almost a chore, and the longer they were married, the more of a burden it became. Neither man could even come close to the skill with which Regina moved inside her. It was as if she'd never been touched before. And even beyond the physical compatibility, there was something so much deeper. She could have spent the entire day in Regina's arms, without noise, just existing together. She'd never spent a moment with Hadrian in their entire marriage that didn't serve some purpose. She could never just be with him.

The brunette stroked her hair soothingly and she looked up at her with a sigh and a smile. "We've wasted most of the afternoon in bed."

Regina nodded. "I know, but doesn't it feel nice to have a break from all the running?"

"It does." Emma bit her lip.

Regina's brow furrowed. "And yet there's no relief in your eyes. Why do you look so unsettled?"

Emma shrugged. "Because it will not last. We cannot hide here forever anymore than we could have at the stronghold. He'll discover that we've gotten into Peppergrey eventually. Maybe not for days, maybe not even for weeks, but with time, he will come to know that we've slipped through his defenses. And once he does… Hadrian has quite the temper."

Regina pursed her lips. "I'd noticed."

"We can't stay here forever. He'll bring in spell casters. They'll catch on to the protection spells around this place like trolls to a coin."

"But we also cannot run forever my love. Not if we wish to be happy. Happiness is not achieved through fleeting days such as this one, stealing kisses and touches when we can, having no home."

"If you're unhappy I…"

Regina stopped stroking her hair, instead grapping her chin and forcing Emma to meet her eyes. "You are my happiness. Don't ever question that. My words were ill placed. I meant not to seem as if I'm unhappy with our current circumstances. They are not ideal but I have dealt with far worse in my time. I meant only to say that our problems will not simply forget us just because we continue to relocate. It was you yourself who told of Hadrian's persistence."

Emma nodded. "He will not stop."

Regina stroked a pale cheek with the backs of her fingers. "If you ask me to, I will run until my body gives out; I will hide in the darkest corner of the most obsolete cave. I will live in secret. But there will come a day when our backs are against the wall and we must stand and fight or face the end."

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"I never thought either of you would emerge." James looked up from the small dining table. He was fully dressed and freshly bathed, eating a bowl of nettleberries.

Regina stretched. "Yes well, we weren't. However, Emma's stomach wouldn't be ignored." She smirked over her shoulder at the blonde who just shrugged sheepishly.

Emma grabbed a few of the nettleberries from her father's bowl and popped them into her mouth, closing her eyes at the sweet juice from the small fruit. "I haven't eaten since night before last, I'll remind you."

"And you've been working up quite an appetite." Regina brushed an unruly curl of blonde hair behind Emma's ear and grinned at her.

A disgusted looked crossed James's face and he pushed the bowl of berries away. "There are some things a father should not know of his daughter's activities."

Emma glared at Regina, who just retained her unashamed smile. She sighed and took one of the wooden chairs next to her father.

Regina took the one on her other side, grabbing her hand under the table and entwining their fingers together.

Emma glanced over at her and smiled before turning back to the bowl of berries. Once she'd gotten down a fair amount, she turned her attention to her father. "So, what is our plan to get into the Forbidden Forest? Do we even have a plan?"

James glanced at Regina, who then glanced at Emma uneasily. He looked at his daughter and nodded. "We have discussed it."

Emma frowned. She hadn't been a part of any discussion. But then again, she was asleep for most of the time they'd normally use for discussing plans. The rest of the day was spent riding. "So?"

"Emma, darling, Hadrian will be prepared for almost anything. He'll be keeping an eye out for trios and…"

The blonde Queen cut Regina off. "So we'll just sneak through one by one. That's probably easier anyway."

Regina shook her head. "Your father has already done some reconnaissance. There are spell casters at the gates. Hadrian knows that even if you somehow do get past his guards and into the city that your goal is to get to the Forbidden Forest. He's stationed the bulk of his guards there and they are screening everyone."

Emma frowned, looking between the other two occupants in the room. "Then how are we supposed to get past the guards undetected?"

James sighed. "We don't think we can."

"So what? We just give up? Wait here for them to find us?"

"No." James looked down at his hands and then back up into her eyes. "I'm going to allow myself to get caught."

Emma jumped up from her seat so fast, that her chair fell over backwards. She didn't care. "No! Absolutely not! There is some other way around this. There has to be! I will not have you endanger yourself!"

Regina used the hand still entwined with hers to pull Emma down into her lap. The blonde struggled against her hold, but after several moments of pointless thrashing, she finally gave up. She rested her head on Regina's shoulder. It suddenly felt too heavy to hold up.

"Hadrian would not treat me cruelly in public. I am still favoured among the people of this land. My rule is untainted. If he intends to do anything to me, we must return to the palace. If I can force the focus on me, it'll give you both a chance to slip through."

"I don't want to lose you too. I've already lost so much."

James smiled. It warmed his heart to know that, even after the less than adequate father he'd been to her, Emma still loved him. He had failed her so many times, but she had never lost faith in him. He could see easily in that moment why she was able to love Regina while he could not. Emma was a pure soul, one of faith in the good of people. It was a rare quality, possessed by precious few. "The Forbidden Forest is not my place. I would only slow you down. I have been there before and no one there owes me any kindness. You will move faster and farther without the hindrance of my presence."

"You're the only family I have left."

James cleared his throat, shifting uneasily in his seat. "Emma, your childhood was cut abruptly short by your mother's death. You turned to me after she was gone, and I should have stepped up; I should have been there for you, just as I should have been there for my kingdom. But I wasn't. That is a regret I shall carry with me for a long time to come. But the time to be what you needed then is gone. You are not a little girl Emma, you no longer need a father to hold you hand through the hard times." He glanced at the brunette. "Regina is all you will ever need, just as Snow was for me. I don't know why she's your choice; I don't claim to understand love and it is madness to try, believe me, I know. But if you have with her what I had with your mother, then you need to do this. You need to make this sacrifice. I need to stay. Because true love, when it's pure… well, there's no greater treasure, no more powerful magic than that. Protect it Emma, at all costs. Because it's the only thing in life worth fighting for."

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She stared out at the little courtyard from her seat by the window. Facing the truth of a difficult situation was never going to be easy. She didn't like the plan, it left a sour taste in her mouth. But she also knew that it was their best shot. It was the first move she believed Hadrian wouldn't anticipate. He believed in the valiancy of Kinghood. A King was brave and courageous and just, above all else. He never surrendered unless it was for the good of all his people. He would see James's surrender as a weakness. But what he didn't realize was that James's act would be one of valor because he was surrendering for the good of his people. Emma was his people.

He'd gone upstairs to his bed chamber, not wanting to stay at the table and have her possibly change his mind. They both knew she couldn't but, given the opportunity, she would have tried like hell. So he hadn't given her the opportunity. He'd left her there, still in Regina's lap with her heavy head resting against the brunette's shoulder.

She'd stayed like that until Regina had gone to draw her a bath. And then she'd found herself here, staring out the window at the enclosed courtyard, willing the sun to sink faster so the moon could rise. It was the first time since she'd awoken Regina from her crystal tomb that she'd wished for the other world. There were no surprises there. And for the second time in as many days, she understood Regina's dark side a little better. She hadn't been able to comprehend why Regina would want to make Storybrooke like the new Stepford. It was boring. But now she realized there was a certain comfort in predictability. Putting everyone in their roles and never having them deviate from the lines assigned to them. She wanted that right now. She longed for that. She didn't want the complications right now.

"Come on my love." Regina was at her side and Emma took her extended hand and let the brunette lead her to the tub. She didn't object as the brunette undressed her, or even when she too undressed. She got in first and then motioned for Emma to once again take the spot on her lap.

Emma didn't have the energy or will to object and she sank into the warm water and let her body rest back against the brunette's as arms wrapped around her waist.

"It doesn't have to be this way you know." Regina kissed her shoulder. "You still have time to change your mind. You can return to the palace with your father and Hadrian. You could go back to your life."

Emma shook her head and leaned it back against Regina's shoulder. "I have no life without you." She turned her head enough to lean in and capture Regina's lips in a slow and gentle kiss. She pulled away, guilt colouring her features. "Everything is not how it once was. I'm not used to it. Pinocchio kissed me yesterday, in the other world. I went to dinner with him and he kissed me." She felt Regina's body tense against her own. "It meant nothing. I only agreed to go because I wanted something familiar. When I'm there, with your other half, I don't see you in her, and that scares me."

Regina's body relaxed, but she continued to frown. "It has crossed your mind to stay with her then?"

"I don't want you for one second to think that I don't still choose you. I will sacrifice anything to stay with you. I just…" She closed her eyes. "I don't want to lose everything familiar in either world. And I know that's what's happening here. I just got him back and I feel like he's abandoning me all over again."

Regina kissed her forehead. "He's not abandoning you, my love. He's setting you free."