"Quite frankly, I don't care what you 'had to do'," Regina hissed with one final twirl before running a man dressed as one of her guards clean through. "You will not try to kill your Queen."

He fell to the floor and the second he did she tossed her sword aside and ripped the mask off his face, taking in a sharp breath when she saw who it was.

The chief of the village they had stopped at over a month before.

They hadn't been a man at all.

They had been a powerful woman.

And they had lied to her.

"Take her away," Regina ordered one of the guards present in the room. "But take her back to her village, let them give her a proper burial."

The guard stared at her in disbelief behind his mask but then bowed and did what she ordered.

"Momma!"

Regina turned around almost immediately, snapping her fingers to clean up the blood and return the sword to its place. Her little girl ran towards her, jumping up into her mother's arms, giggling and trying to take off her tiara and put it on her own head.

"That's a little big for you, don't you think?" Regina smiled, setting her tiara down on one of the small tables nearby. "Did you have a good nap, Lynn?"

Her daughter nodded and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.

"Momma," She said, her dark green eyes wide. "Where's daddy?"

Regina almost fell over, instead opting to carry her daughter to the throne room, where there were only a few portraits of the family. She had taken down (read: destroyed) the ones of her 'husband' and step daughter, replacing them with one of Daniel, one of herself, one of her daughter shortly after her birth, one of her and her daughter as a newborn, and one of the three of them, an impossible reality she had commissioned both out of grief and a desire not to forget about the man she loved most. Even with the past five years, even with the tutelage of Rumple, even with all of her attempts to bring him back, they had failed. She found herself starting to cry just thinking of him, as beautiful and preserved as he had been the day he died, in proper, royal wear, peacefully at rest deep in the palace. Lynn started whimpering, reaching up to try and stop her mother's tears, and the Queen held her closer, trying to regain her composure.

"Your father," She slowly began, cupping her daughter's cheek. "Died before you were born. But, darling, he would be just as proud of you as I am. You're our angel, the reason above all else I will never stop seeking to avenge his death. He deserved to have you in his life just as much as you deserved to have us both."

Lynn sniffled, clutching onto her mother's jewelry.

"I promise, Lynn," Regina said, sitting down on the throne, her daughter tightly in her arms and her own gown cascading down the steps. "He would have loved you as much as I do. You know I love you unconditionally, don't you?"

Lynn nodded, her hair bouncing. "I love you too momma."

Regina smiled. "I'll let you in on a little secret," She said, tapping her daughter's nose. "Your father knew about you before he passed," Her voice fell soft. "And he was happier than I had ever seen him when I told him. I will never forget the moment he pressed his hands against my belly and kissed me, ecstatic to know we were going to have a child together."

Lynn curled up against her mother, shivering a little. Regina shifted to wrap an arm around her, the long end of her sleeve resting over her daughter like a small blanket.

"I love you so much," She whispered, rubbing her little girl's back. "And I vowed from the moment I knew I was going to be bringing you into this world that I would be everything to you that my mother wasn't…..and I will spend my entire life fulfilling that."

"Regina, are you -" Daniel's brow had furrowed in worry when she stumbled into the stables, having fallen off a horse. Her mother's doing, a punishment of sorts for not being the 'perfect daughter' she had always wanted.

"I'm fine," She had said, embracing him tightly, her eyes tearing. "I have something to tell you," She whispered.

Daniel had looked at her, his worry only growing. "Are you injured?"

"No, not at all," Regina had laughed a little. "My hair is a disaster and some of my dress and cloak are ripped, but I'm alright. And," She smiled. "We're with child."

Daniel's eyes had gone wide. "Are you sure?"

"That it's your child?" Regina had stared at him in disbelief. "I haven't slept with anyone else!"

"No, no," He had lowered his voice, his hands steadily on both her arms. "I meant, are you sure you're with child?"

Regina had nodded. "I had to pay off my maid servants to not let it slip to my mother that I've stopped having my monthly bleeding."

Daniel had closed his eyes for a few seconds before his hands lowered to rest over her still flat belly.

"I hope to God we have a daughter," He had murmured, suddenly kissing her. Without hesitation, she drew him closer into their kiss, her arms around his neck. When he broke it, they were both lightly gasping for air. "A beautiful daughter, our own -"

"Your majesty!"

Regina looked up suddenly, her eyes narrowing when she saw one of the captains of her guard stepping into the throne room, bowing deeply before her and her daughter.

"What," She snapped. "Is so important that you felt the need to interrupt a moment with my child?"

He remained steady but bowed his head respectfully towards her.

"Your...pet…" He stammered. "Has arrived. He's waiting in your bedchamber, disarmed, as requested."

Regina paused. "Is he?"

"Yes," The captain confirmed.

She let out a sigh. I have been waiting for this….release all day.

"Get my father," She said coldly. "I imagine he might like to spend some of this lovely winter's day in the gardens with his beloved granddaughter."

Lynn perked up. "Grandpa!"

Regina chuckled. "You have fun, darling," She said, standing up and taking her hand. "I'll take you to him, but you have to listen to him so you don't get hurt while you two are playing in the snow. Alright?"

Lynn grinned. "Okay momma!"

I love her dearly, but she is a handful. I more than deserve a couple of hours to myself to enjoy….the more….sensual pleasures. I may not be able to have her father, but I cannot become with child again by these men either. They are merely playthings, satisfying my needs, and they are nothing more.

"Regina!" Henry clasped his hands together happily when he saw her and Lynn. "And hello to you too, starlight."

Lynn gave him a big smile. "Momma says we get to play snow!"

Henry happily picked up his granddaughter. "Did she now?"

"I did," Regina sent him a sharp look. "Do not let her get hurt, do not let her get too cold, and make sure that she is completely protected at all times. I was teaching her some basic magic earlier, and she nearly cut herself when she accidentally shattered a mirror. For heaven's sake, keep her from accidentally getting hurt. Don't let her climb too high in trees, either. You know how much I worry when she tries to lift herself up above where I can easily catch her without magic."

"Regina," He said, shaking his head. "I love her too. I would never let any harm befall her."

She sighed. "I know that, daddy," She hesitated, then approached him and her daughter to kiss her little girl's cheek. "Momma is going to take some time to….sleep, alright darling? You enjoy yourself with grandpa. I'll see you at supper."

Lynn nodded excitedly, waving happily at her mother while Henry carried her out to the gardens, joking with her along the way.

"Bold of you to lie to your precious child."

Regina glowered when she saw Rumple sitting on the king's throne. "Get off of there," She hissed.

"But of course," He replied, quickly stepping towards her.

"And I did not lie to my daughter," Regina added, sauntering off with one last glare. "I happen to enjoy a nap after I am satisfied by my playthings and their….pleasuring and worshiping of my body."

'We've been walking for hours," Red groaned, finally sitting down on a tree stump. "I can't do it anymore, Snow. Let's set up camp for the night and cook some of the game we caught today. I'm more than willing to eat it raw."

Snow laughed. "You are a werewolf," She gently teased. "It would probably not be a good idea for me, but I doubt it would do anything negative to you."

Red grinned and swatted at her with one of the bags of food and supplies she had been carrying.

"Gotta hit me where it counts, do you?"

Snow rolled her eyes. "You know I jest. You're a wonderful friend, Red, I would never be cruel to you."

Red chuckled. "See, this is what I'm talking about!" She exclaimed. "How can someone as kind as you, as compassionate as you, have been raised by the Evil Queen?"

Snow flinched. "I wouldn't call Regina 'evil.' She's lost, and angry, but I would never call her evil."

Red's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"She killed your father and you won't call her evil? She's taken people's hearts and crushed them in her bare hands - I saw it once! - and you won't call her evil? She's run good people clean through with swords, she'll stop at nothing to try and hurt you, and you honestly cannot call her evil?"

"Of course not," Snow said, setting down the tent and stretching out her arms. "She hates herself more than she does anyone else in this world, and she only takes it out on me because she blames me for the death of her true love, the…." Snow swallowed hard. "The father of her child."

Red watched her closely. "If it's not too intrusive," She slowly began. "Do you remember anything from when….Regina first married your father?"

Snow chewed at the inside of her cheek.

"I was eleven, almost twelve at the time," She finally said. "Though, honestly, Regina probably didn't realise that, let alone cared. She probably couldn't tell you how old I am now, nevermind that I'm eighteen in a few weeks. But, yes, I do remember a lot from then."

"Are you…." Red trailed off, watching her friend. "Are you comfortable sharing more? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Snow sat down across from her, not minding that the forest floor was still covered in the white blanket of her namesake.

"No, it's alright," She said, running her hands through her hair. "Regina would probably never tell Lynn about it, but she was sick throughout her entire pregnancy. It wasn't an act, either. She was genuinely bedridden for several months, struggling to eat too. She barely gained weight, something the doctors were concerned about."

Red stared at her in shock. "Are you serious?"

Snow nodded. "Yes," She hesitated before going on. "Regina did gain enough to sustain the baby, of course, but it was just barely. That was how sick she was. She was almost always cold, and I rarely saw her without being wrapped in furs, even in the summer. She didn't leave the palace, which is always kept quite cool through the summer, but she was sick. Sicker than I had ever seen even my own mother before she died."

Red's brow furrowed in deep thought. "I can't believe it…."

"There's more," Snow said quietly. "By sheer coincidence, Regina and Lynn were born on the same day. I'll never forget how happy she was the day Lynn was born. I thought Lynn was my father's at the time, of course," She wiped tears away from her eyes. "But when I saw her that afternoon - Lynn was born in the early morning, the twenty-sixth of September - Regina was soft around the edges, holding her close, nursing her and smiling."

"I can't even imagine her like that," Red admitted. "All I can see her as is the Evil Queen, dressed in those red silk coats and leather pants and corset, a large, wide-brimmed hat on her head and magic coursing through her with nothing but vitriol. I already know her daughter is going to have as short a temper as her. Like I said, I've seen her crush people's hearts. She's completely cold, with a temper on a thin, tightly wound wire."

Snow was silent, having nothing to contest.

Regina had always known what she wanted and would stop at nothing to have it.

Or to keep safe the few things, the few people she genuinely loved.

"She was even happy to see me," Snow went on, beginning to pitch up the tent. It was getting dark, and the last thing she wanted was to be trying to light a fire with Red in the dark. "I'll never forget that. She didn't protest when I sat down on the edge of her bed, and she even let me touch Lynn's face. She told me…."

"Oh, Snow…" Red stood up and came to help her pull up the other side of the tent. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling with all of this."

Snow glanced down at her hands and then went back to what she was doing, continuing with all the strength she could muster. "Regina said: 'I don't think I've ever wanted to hold onto someone more.' She didn't let my father see her, but I assumed at the time it was because it was improper for a man to see a woman after she's given birth. Now, obviously, I know there was much more….something much darker to it."

Red nodded, slamming the stakes on her side of the tent into the ground with her feet.

"She loves her a lot, doesn't she?"

"If there are two people Regina loves equally in the world, it's her daughter and her father," Snow said, shoving in the stakes on her end of the tent into the ground, then kneeling down to prepare and l light a fire. "After Lynn's birth, Regina spent almost every waking moment with her. They always co-slept and I imagine they still do. It's a protection, of sorts. As I said, Regina has been preoccupied since she was pregnant with protecting her daughter. If there is one thing constant about her, that is it. She will do anything for Lynn's safety."

Red considered that. Well, I guess we know what to take when and if she finds Snow and tries to kill her. Lynn given back to her for a promise that Snow's life will be guaranteed safe.

"You're one of the best people I've ever met," Red said, tossing a piece of game to her once the fire was started. "Like I said, I can't even imagine having sympathy for someone like her."

"There are two sides to everyone," Snow replied, setting up to roast the meat. "That's true of Regina more than anyone else I've ever met."

Red tiredly rubbed her eyes. "I just wonder what happened to her. How could losing the father of her child make someone go that far away from the person they were then? I doubt he would love her the way she is now."

"I disagree," Snow said, slowly starting to turn the meat. "He loved her as unconditionally as she did him, and as unconditionally, I'm sure as she loves her daughter now. I don't doubt he would make her a better, more restrained, calmer person….but he would support her through the thick and thin."

Red chewed at the inside of her lip. "I hope one day I'll find love like that."

"That's all anyone can hope for," Snow replied, handing her a few sticks of cinnamon they had harvested, albeit illegally. "But I'm sure we'll find our own happy endings. Time has a way of doing that, you know."

Red winked. "Well, I can't fucking wait for when I find my true love."

"Me either," Snow replied, taking a bite out of a piece of somewhat stale bread. "Tell you what," She said, pausing to take another bite. "I'll help you find yours, and you help me find mine."

Red reached over to shake her hand, sealing the deal with a bumping of their thumbs.

"Deal."

Snow smirked. "On that note, want to go on to more pleasant subjects?"

Red high fived her. "Hell yes!"

Snow winked. "So, how did you learn to be so good at hand to hand fights? I doubt it's just because you're a werewolf."

Red laughed, wheezing. "I'll tell ya that if you tell me where you learned your archery skills."

Snow considered that. "Fair enough," She replied, cracking her knuckles. "I started practising archery when I was about four, having been in awe of some of the knights practising their own form. I'm not the best shot, but I'm getting stronger at it every day. You've seen me practise plenty, haven't you?"

"True!" Red agreed. "And I'll never get tired of you pulling the wood off trees you practise shooting in to help make more arrows."

Snow nodded with a grin. "So," She said jokingly. "I think you've got your end of the deal to hold up."

Red nodded, leaning back on the palms of her hands.

"Let me tell you," She said with a smirk. "It's one hell of a tale."