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

A/N:: backstory on Daniela. chapter mostly from regina's pov.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

-Chapter 44: Every Action In This World Will Bear A Consequence-

Regina stared at the fire. She hadn't slept. How could she? She'd held Emma until she fell asleep and then had checked on Savya before coming back to the parlour and sitting before the fire. The previous day still didn't even seem real.

"Ella?" Emma shot up. "It's been you this whole time?"

The uncloaked woman nodded her head. She didn't look the same as she had. Her eyes were more almond shaped, the normal dark blue of her irises was replaced by a near white ice blue. Her long brown hair was more lustrous and bouncy. Gone was the meek young lady who once taught Regina the meaning of love, and taught Emma how to cope with her condition. In her place stood a confident, strong woman, magical in her very presence.

Daniela, or- Snow White had referred to her as something different, hadn't she?- Daneiria, tilted her head and looked at Emma, but didn't answer. At least not vocally, though Regina saw Emma flinch and knew that the magical woman was probably communicating with her telepathically, transporting her words right into the blonde's head.

Finally, she turned her ice blue gaze on Regina. "Hello dear one."

And Regina acted impulsively, doing the first thing that came to mind, choosing to strike out. She threw her magic out and knocked both Snow and Daniela back with a sheer propulsion of energy, grabbing Emma's hand and disappearing in a swirl of smoke.

They had returned to their chambers. It was late, but she had still expected them to seek them out. But surprisingly, Snow had decided to keep her distance for once. They all let them be, let them have time to process everything. Even Maleficent was strangely absent, and she never missed a chance to revel in Regina's discomfort, or anyone's discomfort for that matter. Snow, or more likely Daniela, must have said or done something big to make her pass up an opportunity like this.

"You always were a deep thinker, always trying to look at the puzzle and solve it in your mind before you even made the first move. I always admired that in you." White heat flared in the seat of the other armchair, quickly replaced by the woman who'd been the subject of her thoughts all night. Her voice was different than Regina remembered, higher, like a twinkling bell. It was pleasant, but so foreign on a person she'd already associated with a different sound.

"Emma's not awake yet." She tried to fight the clipped tone of her voice but it came through anyway.

"I came to speak with you."

Regina laughed, a dry, brittle sound. "You've had four decades to speak with me. I've believed you dead for forty years." She shook her head in disbelief. "It killed me when I first thought about it. So much time that I wasted mourning someone not even dead. Foolish girls and their tendency to offer up their hearts to the people who don't want them."

Daniela nodded, seeming at once very sad, and also very accepting. "You believe I never loved you." It wasn't a question, just a statement of obvious fact.

"You abandoned me. That is not love."

"I gave you the best chance I could."

Regina laughed once more at the absurdity of it. "Really? I became the Evil Queen because of your death, and that was my best chance? I'm just dying to know how that logic works itself out in your head."

"You have to understand, I didn't have the power then that I do now. I hadn't ascended yet. I was still a magical apprentice to a Wisdom, a sorceress you know well."

It clicked then. The rose-eyed woman from her childhood, the only other person she'd ever seen remove Apasma venom. It made perfect sense. Daniela became the stable girl after that, became a fixture in her life. "Manja."

"Yes. Manja was my Wisdom, my teacher."

"Was?"

"She died, many many years ago." Daniela sighed. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

Regina said nothing to encourage her, but nothing to stop her either.

"I was born in Bridalveil three hundred twenty six years ago. Daneiria was my name. I come from a long line of guardians, protectors. It is in my blood and I knew from a small age that I would be trained to look after those who were destined to be something important to our world. Manja was assigned to teach me. At the time, she wore the white cloak. It was an honour to be chosen to train with the best. That's who the white cloak is, The Light One, the balance to the person Rumpelstiltskin is now, others before him. The source of light magic. But, even though it was a great honour, it also meant a great sacrifice. When you become the apprentice of The Light One, you forfeit your life. They choose an elf that has lost their parents, one with no familial ties and then, once training begins, you are not allowed to be around your people any longer. I went to live with Manja in the lowlands of the Enchanted Forest, away from my people and their customs. She was my only contact with a living being for so long. They wish you not to form bonds, you see, so that when you ascend, when you take over the role and the power, you have no bonds to be exploited. You can only take over upon the death of your Wisdom, the previous white cloak, and by then, they have been your only contact for so long." She gazed sadly into the fire. "You were my first assignment. I met you on the day you were born. Manja, who had by that time magicked herself and I to look as common servants so we could take up residence and service at Millhaven, delivered you. You were so wondrous, the most amazing and beautiful creature I had ever seen. Cora wouldn't even hold you, so I wrapped you up in a blanket and carried you up to the nursery and we danced, spinning around and around, until you fell asleep. I loved you even then. After that night, dancing was the only thing that calmed you. Dancing and the piano. I'd play for you, sing to you, and dance with you. And I would do magic for you. I'd take you out to the garden on nights when you just wouldn't sleep and I'd set you in my lap and shoot little bursts into the air. You loved it, you loved me…, that was never supposed to happen, or maybe it was. Fate has always been fickle like that. Queen Snow White…" She paused when Regina bristled. "She believes it was Rumpelstiltskin who first attempted to tip the scales of the prophecy, by cursing Emma. And maybe he was the first to intentionally do it, but it was me who first upset the balance, with you."

Regina, who had remained quiet for the whole conversation thus far, sparked at this comment, but still she said nothing.

"Manja saw how close I was growing to you. You were a toddler and we spent all our time together. Cora didn't really have the time."

Regina flinched. When had that changed? "Manja didn't approve?"

Daniela scoffed. "Far from it. You were three when she sent me away. Servants come and go from wealthy noble families all the time, so your parents didn't pay any attention to my departure. I lived in the woods, in a cottage, while Manja kept watch over you."

"But Manja wasn't in our service. The first time I remember her, was when I was seven, and she was just passing through."

"She was until you were four. Something changed then; Cora became interested in everything you did, your every action. It was as if she suddenly realized she had a child. She sent Manja away, claiming she wanted to do all your rearing herself. Manja had no choice but to leave. Now that she was on Cora's radar, she couldn't just alter her appearance and go back, but I could. We kept watch, waited for a position to open up that I could easily slide into. We put up magical wards to protect you from the brunt of Cora's magic until we could find a way back in. You were twelve when the position of stable hand emptied. Cora had discovered the wards, broken through them and inflicted the injury that gave you that scar." Daniela chanced the contact and reached across the space between them, running a long finger down the scar on Regina's lip. The brunette tensed, but didn't flinch away from the contact. As if seemingly realizing it was no longer her place, she drew back her hand. "You probably weren't old enough to remember Mr. Locknee, the older gentleman who tended the horses before me, but he had a kind soul. He stumbled, and like one would do with their horse, Cora put him down. We had hoped for a position in the keep, a serving girl or something, so I could keep closer watch, but it was too risky to your well being to prolong my absence any further. I showed up the next day, claiming to be a sixteen year old maiden, seeking work. I knew a lot about horses, most elves do, and I was a logical choice for the position. Manja and I had lightened my hair, darkened my eyes, made them wider, more human. Cora didn't even bat an eyelash in suspicion. I slid right into the position and it was just as if I hadn't been away from you for almost a decade. You came in for riding lessons that first day and…." She glanced off at the memory.

"I was quite taken with you. I may have only been twelve, but I'd read the tales of true love and heroes. I wanted that, just like any other young girl. I walked into that stable, expecting to see Mr. Locknee. My mother never told me when she'd killed a servant, unless of course, she'd killed them specifically to punish me." Regina's eyes ran the length of the woman sitting beside her. "He used to give me honey sticks to suck on before my lessons. But you were there instead, and you were young and beautiful, the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. I wanted to spend every second with you, right from the beginning."

Daniela smiled. "You say that as if I wasn't just as taken with you."

"Were you?" Regina didn't sound for a second as if she believed that.

"You may not believe it now. But I… I was never supposed to love you. All my training left my mind in the four years that followed. I went with my heart instead. None of what I ever said to you was a lie. I did love you and I did want to run away with you."

"But…" Regina prompted.

"When Manja found out, she was so cross with me. But she asked me if I was willing to forfeit my life's work, my destiny, to stay with you. I agreed without hesitation. I couldn't imagine a future without you in it." Daniela smiled sadly to herself. "Manja knew Cora would not easily let you go. When Snow White became a pawn in Cora's plans, Manja had me go to the cottage in the woods. She took my place that night, altering herself with magic to look like me. She was going to sneak you away and bring you to me, where I'd tell you the truth and she'd take us to Bridalveil. It was the only place we'd be safe from Cora. No humans can breech the boundaries in the North without express permission from the elves. We would have been safe."

"Manja never expected my mother to show up that night, did she?"

Daniela shook her head. "No. When your mother…. Because I had not denounced my vows and I was still Manja's apprentice, despite my decision to abdicate, with her passing, her powers automatically went to me. I became The Light One. Cora forced you into a loveless marriage, and me into a power I never asked for with her actions that night. I felt it when it happened, and I knew right that second that I would never share your life as anything but your secret guardian. I never truly left you; I was always there. You just never knew I was."

Regina couldn't decide what she felt more, relief, confusion, or betrayal. "If you saw the path I was heading down, if you saw me becoming the Evil Queen, why did you not stop it? You would have saved so many."

"I didn't have a choice. Once your mother discovered the wards protecting you, wards made from light magic, back when you were twelve, she adjusted to work around them. Your mother was quite adept at adjusting to fit whatever circumstances were thrown her way. Manja and I had no choice but to seek the help of another being, one who knew your mother's arts better than we did."

Regina paled, her hands gripping the armrests of her chair so hard her knuckles went white. "Rumpelstiltskin." She said the name as a curse, with a sneer.

Daniela nodded. "Yes. I went to him and asked him to protect you from her. She would no longer be able to inflict any lasting damage on you."

"In exchange for what?"

Daniela bit her lip and met Regina's intense gaze guiltily. "I could not interfere with your life if you ever became a Queen."

Regina closed her eyes and nodded.

"You must understand that you were twelve at the time. The King was still married then, to Snow's mother. I thought there was no risk of it ever coming to that." When the other woman said nothing, Daniela placed a frantic hand on her forearm. "Regina!"

Brown eyes flashed open. "What?" She knocked Daniela's hand away. "What is it you'd have of me?"

Daniela sat back in her chair, momentarily chastised. "Obviously forgiveness is not something you're fond of."

Regina's eyes widened at the very audacity of her implications. "I have spent my adult life hating a woman for taking away the one thing I held closest to my heart, only now to find all of it was a lie! You wish my forgiveness?"

Daniela nodded. "I don't claim to deserve it, but I hope for it."

Regina stared at her for a long moment, looking regally down her nose. For her part, Daniela didn't squirm, but sat calmly under scrutiny.

"In time you'll have what you hope for." Regina stood, extinguishing the fire with a wave of her hand. "I cannot hate you, either of you, anymore. Without both of you, I wouldn't have her. Any debt owed me was paid in full the day she was born." She looked to the bed chamber doors. "If you'll excuse me." She started towards them.

"I have faith that she'll break through to the other Regina, but if she doesn't…" Daniela looked to the other woman's back. "I may have a way… a last resort. Just something to consider."

Regina whipped around in surprise, but there was nothing remaining in the chair but tendrils of white heat where Daniela had been.

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma felt the warm wetness between her thighs as she stirred. A smile crossed her face moments before it broke to allow a moan to escape. She felt fingers digging into her hips, anchoring them down, and then a tongue moved adroitly up her length. She bucked against the hold on her hips, squirming with pleasure. Then she finally found her voice. "Regina!" A lump moved underneath the duvet, pleasuring her continually. She reached out with a shaky hand and managed to grab the edge of the duvet, flinging it off and away. Brown eyes met hers, darkening seductively as a skilled tongue continued to swim between her folds. Emma let her hand snake down and into brunette locks as she bit her lip and rolled her hips against the assault.

Regina's left hand released its hold on her hip and skimmed down the outside of Emma's thigh and then wrapped around to the inside and traveled back up. She didn't hesitate to push two fingers inside, smirking against Emma's sex as the blonde gasped.

It didn't take long at all before Emma was clenching around her fingers, coming undone right there against Regina's mouth. The brunette stroked softly inside her until she stilled and then removed her fingers, crawling back up the blonde's body, placing kisses at random spots against the flushed skin of her torso. Emma grabbed her upper arms and dragged her up faster, slamming their mouths together, tasting herself on the brunette's tongue.

Regina pulled away first, her hands running through messy golden hair as she gazed down into the green eyes below her. "You were worth it, you know."

Emma's brow crinkled in confusion. "Worth what?"

Regina placed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Everything. All that I have endured. I'd do it again and again, live the pain a thousand times over, if every time, at the end, I got you." She sighed and rested her head down on the blonde's chest. "You are the greatest gift I have ever received."

SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN SWAN QUEEN

Emma's entire day was spent in lessons with Daniela. Evil Queen 101. So Regina spent the day with their daughter. It hurt to spend the day apart. Their time together would be limited, and she wished they could spend what little was left to them together, as a family. But neither she nor Savya had any interest in helping Emma learn to seduce another woman. She didn't have the stomach to bear having her ex fiancée teach her current fiancée about how to make her other half fall in love with her. It was just a little too much.

So she and the Huntsman, who Savya affectionately woofed at all day, took the little girl out to play in the snow all afternoon. Snow White was nowhere to be found and Regina found herself hoping the woman had left. All she brought forth were feelings of guilt now that Regina knew she wasn't responsible for Daniela's death. Her broken promise had still killed Manja; she was still just as guilty as she'd always been. But Regina knew she could no longer punish her for the crime of taking away her love. That honour now belonged to her former love herself. But she couldn't even find it in her heart to hate Daniela either. That part of her life was gone. It was time she laid the Evil Queen to rest and enjoyed what time she had left.