Emma led the way out of Regina's room, glancing down at the slain Jefferson and Eric outside the door. She squeezed the hilt of her sword as she turned down the long hallway. She glanced back to see she was followed by the soldier she recognized as Peter right behind her, with Regina sandwiched between Will and another soldier whose name she couldn't remember. As they started down the hallway, they were immediately intercepted by a handful of Snow's guards. The group engaged Emma and Peter, the two successfully killing the guards, moving the group forward. As they were about to get to the staircase leading to the stables, another five soldiers emerged from around the corner, catching them off guard. Emma lost her balance and was pinned against the wall, her sword the only barrier between her face and the guard's blade. She was stuck, battling his strength when Peter stuck his dagger through the man, sending him sliding to the floor. He looked at Emma who was wide eyed. She smiled just as Peter froze. Emma was confused until she saw a trail of blood come from the corner of his mouth. She looked down to see a sword sticking through his chest.

"Nooooo!" Emma could hear her voice echo. As Peter fell to the side Emma engaged his killer, forcing him backwards until she slashed his belly open with a vicious blow. He was the last one, and Emma turned to look as Peter spit blood from a crumpled mess on the ground. She bent down to cradle his head, his eyes completely out of focus as he fought to breathe. She felt a hand tugging at her arm.

"We gotta go. We gotta go! CAPTAIN!" Emma's hearing was hollow, but slowly she processed the voice of Will begging her to come back to reality. All seemed to move in slow motion as she stood, watching Peter take his last breath. She looked up to see the terrified face of Queen Regina and snapped back into reality. She HAD to keep her safe. She picked her sword back up and led them down the stairs to the stables.

XXXXXXXXXXX

They reached the stables without further incident, and rode as fast as they could out of the castle and out of the town. They barreled their way through the forest, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the White Castle as possible. They would never make it back to the Black Castle in one shot, but they knew they had to get as far as the horses could take them.

They reached a thick wooded area where Emma brought them all to a halt. They were all short of breath. Emma looked at their ragged group: a half beaten Will, a terrified Queen, and a green Queen's guard who Emma couldn't even remember.

Emma looked at the young soldier and nodded. "You. What's your name again?"

"Felix, ma'am."

Emma nodded, finally remembering. "Right, Felix. Listen, Felix, I have a really important job for you. I need you to ride ahead and alert Robin to what's happened. Have them send soldiers to meet us. Tell him we'll be taking the long road through the mountains. Make sure he sends men to help the Queen. Think you can handle that?"

Felix nodded confidently. "Yes Ma'am."

Emma nodded. "Alright get going."

Felix ribbed his horse and he was off.

"Why the mountain road? That will take an extra half day's travel!"

Emma looked back at a confused Will. She took a deep breath. "If Snow sends men after us, they'll assume we took the fastest road. We need to keep off their radar. We won't stand a chance of they catch us out here."

Will nodded in understanding, gripping onto the horn of his saddle. Emma looked back to see a thoroughly disheveled, petrified Queen. Her heart hurt. When Regina made eye contact, Emma tried to give her a reassuring look. "We'll be okay. Will and I won't let them near you."

Regina gave a weak smile and nodded. Emma nodded back and looked at their surroundings.

"Lets take the horses another hour at a gallop and them we'll button down until sunrise." Emma clicked at her horse and they continued on into the night.

XXXXXXXXX

Will had made a small fire, just enough to produce heat but didn't let out much light so as not to give away their position. Will and Emma had positioned the Queen between them as they sat, alert yet trying to let their bodies rest.

Emma kept Regina in her peripheral vision, even though the queen appeared quite calm. Emma was biting her nails furiously and rocked slightly as thoughts paraded through her head.

"Captain, you're thinking is going to scare away the wildlife," Regina finally said quietly.

Emma glanced at her and spit out a chewed fingernail. "I should have known," she said as she continued to rock.

"Why? How could you have?"

Emma shook her head. "Queen Snow...Snow...Mother Fucker said some things that now that I think about, I should have picked up on." She looked over and saw Regina looking at her curiously. "She was basically grilling me. I think once she had you two murdered she was going to try and use me to infiltrate your castle. Damn it, I'm so fucking stupid!" Emma pulled at her scalp, closing her eyes tightly.

"Captain," Regina tried to snap her out of it. "Swan!" She was still unable to get Emma to focus. Will just watched the scene, widdling his stick. Finally Regina leaned over and placed a calming hand on Emma's forearm. "Emma." She said quietly. Finally the blonde turned to look at her, locking eyes. Regina shook her head. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

Will looked on curiously, noticing a tenderness between these two that surprised him. He saw how Emma immediately calmed when the queen put her hand on her, and the eye contact made him oddly uncomfortable.

Emma half smiled at the queen and squeezed the hand that was on her arm. She glanced up to see Will watching them and patted her hand. "You should get some sleep."

Regina nodded and reluctantly laid back, using her own arm as a pillow. Emma let her hand rest on the queen's side, willing her to sleep. Emma noticed Will looking on, but didn't remove her hand. The queen's comfort out weighed the need for discretion at the moment.

XXXXXXXX

They were riding slowly because of the high rock walls on either side of them. Although the chances of an ambush were slim, Emma wasn't taking any chances with Regina's life. She rode in front with Regina in the middle, Will taking the rear. Emma's ears were on full alert and she had one hand on her sword.

Emma signaled for them to halt after she heard a rustling up ahead. She peered ahead as much as she could, but there was a sharp turn obstructing her view. She slowly drew her sword as to not make too much sound. She channelled all her focus as a warrior, knowing the woman she loved's life could very well depend on her skills.

The sounds increased, as did the tension. Emma heard Will draw his sword as well, just as horses came around the corner. Emma suddenly let the breath she had been holding out as she saw Robin leading a half dozen men in search of Queen Regina.

Robin caught sight of his quarry and smiled big. Emma started laughing as she regained her breath, shaking her head as she re-sheathed her sword. "Thank the Gods." She said as she laughed. She could hear the relief of the others behind her as the guards approached happily.

Emma swung off her horse and met Robin, clutching his forearm eagerly. Although they had their differences in the past, the one thing that united them was the queen's safety.

"Bloody hell, Swan. You picked a fine time to switch teams," Robin smiled.

Emma grinned back, still gripping the man's arm. "Well, it wasn't hard to figure out which Queen was worth my life."

Robin winked at her. "I'll bet," he said as he moved past her to greet his queen.

Emma tilted her head, wondering exactly what had just happened in that exchange. She didn't put too much thought on it, however. She was just glad to have an escort for the rest of the way to the Black Castle.

XXXXXXXX

It was after nightfall when the weary survivors made their way into the relative safety of the Black Castle. Emma stopped and watched as Regina retreated into her queen's quarters with a pleading look back at Emma. Emma just flicked a smile and nodded, walking off to the bath chambers.

Emma had cleaned her body and soothed her muscles at least a little bit, and pulled her cotton shift over her head. She wandered barefoot down the hall, half delirious with lack of sleep. She came up on Regina's sleeping quarters where two guards stood watch.

Without a word, the guards stepped aside and opened the door for her. If she was thinking clearly, she would know that Regina must have given her guards an order to let Emma in if she arrived at the queen's door.

Emma staggered into the chamber, seeing a lump in the large bed across the room. She dragged her feet over and stared down at the queen curled up in the bed. Emma pulled the sheet up and crawled in, spooning against the queen's back tightly. She felt the brunette reach and grab her arms, pulling them around the woman like a tight sweater. Emma nestled her face into the back of Regina's neck, breathing in the scent of the freshly bathed queen. They settled into each other, both running hands gently up arms and necks.

They were both exhausted, but it was clear they could not achieve the freedom of relaxation and sleep without the comfort of the other woman. Regina pushed her body back into the captain's, sighing out in relief. She smiled slightly before reaching behind her blindly to catch the back of Emma's head.

"Thank you for saving my life," Regina whispered.

Emma nuzzled deeper into Regina's neck and squeezed tighter when she heard this. There was a long silence as each woman started to fall into a much needed sleep. Just as all consciousness was about to leave them, Emma muttered, almost in-audibly, "I would die for you."