Wonderstruck

Chapter 6

"Henry what were you thinking? We agreed that it would be best to marry Regina to Hugo since Summerslanding is closer to our Kingdom and they have a strong army to back it."

"Yes, I know this Cora but I did what I thought was best for our daughter and our Kingdom." Henry sighed as he spoke watching Cora eye him angrily as she continued to pace in front of him. He hunched his shoulders and waited knowing his wife's mind wouldn't settle until she'd thought about all options.

"I will not allow this to continue." She fumed.

"I cannot back out of the contract Cora. It will be good for us. Think of the possibilities." He tried to soothe her even as he looked away from her. He was as frightened of her as his poor beautiful daughter was.

"There are no possibilities. Wintersend struggles to pay off its war debts. The Kingdom is practically broke."

"But they have access to the mines and the strongest steel to be had in all of the Enchanted Forest. Think of the possibilities my Queen. A sword made from the finest dwarven steel is ten times that of a regular sword. Not to mention the fairy dust."

Cora folded her arms and tapped her foot as she seemingly thought. "And you've ensured that these things will be mine once Regina is married to the blonde wretch?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then by all means sign the contract." Cora offered him a warm smile which he slowly returned.

"As you command my love," Henry dipped his head.

"I will tell our daughter of the joyous news. I'm sure she'll be happy." The Queen stated confidently.

Henry winced but didn't say a word. He knew Cora considered Regina hers and hers alone. Her daughter, she had bore her as though he had done nothing. He nodded, "Yes my darling."

"Your grace," Regina said dully as Emma approached her. She was standing in the winter garden as the other princess approached her.

"I didn't see you at breakfast, your highness." Emma stopped in front of her and dipped into a short bow. Her leather pants creaked as she moved.

"I imagine that bothered you then?" She turned her back on the blonde.

"I was concerned for you." The princess slid back to her feet looking at the pretty brunette, who would soon be her wife. She couldn't wait.

"Walk with me, your highness. I'd like privacy." Regina didn't wait for an answer as she turned; her beautiful deep gold gown flouncing slightly as she began to walk. The heavy fabric trailed along the snow covered walkways, leaving slight patterns in the icy surfaces. She didn't slow until they had almost reached the center of the gardens knowing the blonde had struggled to keep up with her fast pace. She was practically vibrating with emotion but she pushed it down.

"Is it true your grace? That you asked your mother to talk to my parents about a contract for my hand?" She finally turned to look at the blonde, her fury almost palpable in the cold air around them.

The blonde princess stumbled slightly, startled by the sudden stop and the blunt questioning. She paused, trying to gather herself as she noticed Regina's small gloved hands clenching and releasing angrily at her sides. Her gaze went up, past her small heaving chest to her beautiful flushed cheeks. She was gorgeous. The fire in her eyes was enticing and though the princess knew the other girl was angry she couldn't help the desire that pooled in her belly at the sight of her.

She shook her head, pushing away the thought of throwing the girl down and kissing her soundly. It wouldn't be proper until after they were married after all. "Yes," She finally said. "I did."

"Why?"

Such a simple question with such complicated answers, the blonde thought to herself. How would she ever begin to explain to Regina what she thought about her, what she wanted for her? It seemed an impossible task. She took a breath, releasing it slowly in a white puff as she tried to formulate her response.

"You owe me that much, your highness. Why would you do this to me?" Regina's harsh words cut through her hazy thoughts and she breathed deeply.

"I wanted to make you happy." She said softly, the first and only true explanation she could come up with.

A harsh bark of laughter and she flinched. "You wanted to make me happy? How does this make me happy? I'm barely even out of my childhood and I'm being forced into a marriage to you."

"I…"

"No, you don't get to speak. How dare you! What gives you the right to decide for me what will and won't make me happy?"

Emma opened her mouth as her hand went out to try and touch the other girl, to soothe her.

"Don't you touch me. Don't you ever touch me." The girl's eyes flashed with her fury. "This farce I'm being forced to endure is only for your benefit not mine. And because it's already been signed, I cannot refuse."

"I will," Emma said softly, bowing her head. "I'll tell my mother it was a mistake and that you and I aren't happy with this."

Regina shook her head, "It doesn't work like that. Once a contract like that is signed, it's unbreakable. You should've read the fine print before you asked your Mother to go to mine about this."

Emma's head shot up. "My mother didn't go to your mother; she went to your father."

"What?" Emma could practically see the gears turning in Regina's head.

She nodded, seeing this as her way to try and fix the problem. "My mother went to your father and he agreed to the union long before your mother even knew about it."

"Why would he do that?"

"My mother said he told her he wanted you to be happy."

"He knew this wouldn't make me happy." Regina snapped, causing Emma to flinch again.

"Is being married to me such a bad thing?"

"Yes, it is."

The blonde felt tears begin to sting her eyes. She nodded, "Of course, your grace. I apologize for my rudeness but I must take my leave. I will see you at dinner tonight." She dipped into a bow as she twisted on her heel and left.

"Emma, wait." Regina called out as the blonde practically ran from her but the beautiful blonde didn't stop. She just kept running.

"Damn kid what's going on with you?" Grumpy asked as he walked into her bedroom. She hadn't been at dinner but her mother hadn't been able to come and get her herself. "Your Mom is worried sick." He added.

Emma twisted slightly on the couch, curling into a bit of a tighter ball. She pulled her blanket around her and clutched her stuffed animal, a beautiful rabbit her father had given her when she was four a bit closer. He was no longer in the best condition having endured so much but it was comforting for her to have him near.

"She hates me Grumpy." She didn't have to say the other girl's name to know that he would know who she was talking about.

"Of course she does. You forced her hand." He didn't bother to sugar coat things, never was his style.

Emma flinched, "I just wanted to make her happy."

Grumpy sighed as he sat down beside her. "No, you didn't. You wanted to make yourself happy. You never stopped to ask her what she wanted."

"Yes, I did. She wants to be free but I don't know how to do that for her."

"There are many forms of freedom Emma. I don't imagine being that young and now being put into a situation she barely understands is anything but pleasant."

"What should I do? The contract is unbreakable or so she says."

"Well it hasn't been signed yet. They're still hammering out the terms and conditions." The dwarf rubbed the back of his neck. "If you really want to get out of it, I suppose you could."

The blonde princess sighed, "I don't want to get out of it but I know she does."

Grumpy's brow furrowed. "Then why the hell are you hiding out if you don't want to get out of it?"

Emma remained quiet for a long time, "I don't know."

The dwarf sighed. "Look if you want that girl for your wife for whatever reason then you'd best prove to her that you're worth it. Starting by getting your ass downstairs and proving to her that you're not just going to run and hide from her when things get tough."

"Emma," Snow smiled softly as her daughter made her way towards her. She looked a bit uncomfortable but she was still present.

"I'm sorry I'm late mother. I wasn't feeling well." She apologized and moved to sit in the empty seat beside her mother. It didn't escape her notice that Princess Regina was sitting on her right hand side. The place a wife usually held.

She tried to catch the brunette's eyes, tried to offer her a soft smile of assurance but the other girl wouldn't lift her eyes from her half eaten plate.

She sighed, looking away towards her Mother, who merely offered her a soft kind smile. "We're signing the contract tomorrow Emma."

Emma glanced at Regina again and then back at her mother. "I don't want to marry Regina," She said softly.

"What?" The Queen blinked in shock at her daughter's sad face.

"I can't marry her Mother."

"I'm sorry." She stood up from the table and began to move away. The silence in the hall was deafening but she ignored it as she stopped behind Regina's chair. She looked towards the back of her head for a moment before she laid her hand on her shoulder. The princess twisted slightly, one eye meeting hers before her small hand came up and touched the hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Regina."

She slowly pulled her hand away and left the hall, her heels clacking against the stone as she walked away with her head held high.