Live as Regina

by Mac NorthSea

On the way to Neverland,Emma is troubled by the moments in the mines she and Regina had at moment of Regina's self-sacrifice that changed everything,even Emma herself.With understanding her upbringing gave her,the Savior decides to save not only Henry but his mother as well. Doing so will take her and her family through harrowing challenges of love,duty,conflict,and magic.

13. Chapter 13

I could not split the chapter, so it might seem rather big.

Warning: some mild 'smut' ahead between the main characters...

Enjoy...

Chapter 13.

It was a lovely day in the Storybrooke forest. The Sun shone, the rays of light piercing the crowns of the trees, making the play of shadow and light all the more interesting. The birds were chirping high in the trees, while a small squirrel passed on the ground, looking for something, as it skittered across the forest floor. As it heard a branch snap, it lifted it head and frighteningly sniffed the air. With a small shriek it hopped on a low branch of the nearby tree and scampered up, in the safety of the leaves.

Emma walked on, enjoying the intertwining shadows and shafts of light on her face, as she went through the forest. It was peaceful, this forest. She was glad that Henry had made her take a walk to clear her head. It seemed to work. She couldn't even remember why she had been so short with everyone of late. Only that something had made feel so angry, so willing to be violent toward others.

She shook her head and continued strolling, watching around the place she had found herself in. It wasn't far from the trail, and it was only a mile south west to the wishing well, but it was far enough to be sure that she would not come upon anyone in her cool down walk. Unless someone was specifically looking for her, but most knew to steer clear of her when she was in one of her moods. Even Leroy…

Suddenly, the birds fell silent and an unearthly quiet lowered onto the forest. Emma froze, searching the shadows around her, her eyes darting in her scrutinizing gaze. Releasing the snap on her holster, she held her hand over the handle of her pistol, still searching for the cause of fear in the forest.

A shadow moved in her peripheral view making her turn in that direction. Again, something dashed in between the trees to her side, attracting her attention. But, then it all stopped. For a time nothing moved. A gentle breeze started up, shaking the leaves, making the light flicker and shadows stir. Sighing, Emma relaxed and lowered her hand, shaking her head, thinking herself silly to jump at the shadows. She turned to go, still shaking her head when she felt someone in front of her. In a speed of light her hand pulled out the gun out of the holster and placed it in front of her. Then, she saw who it was.

"You already killed me," a young man spoke, showing the bloody gash across his middle. Emma knew who he was. He was one of the Lost Boys she had fought off in the Hall at the Island in Neverland. Apparently, she had killed him, even though she had thought that she had started killing in the camp, not before then. But what did it matter? She had killed him and many others.

As soon as she thought of the others, they all appeared before her, surrounding her, each proudly showing his wounds. Emma blanched at the number of them, for the first time faced with the reality of what she had done. They advanced toward her, reaching for her. As the hands touched her, she fought them off, pushing away the limbs, but there were too many. The insistent hands pulled her down and covered her with the bodies of the men she killed. The reeking of the fetid, rotting bodies overwhelmed her, and her already disturbed stomach rebelled. Feeling the acid in her mouth, she grimaced, trying to push off the heavy burden of the flesh. Finally, after what seemed hours under the foul creatures, she managed to slither away, crawling on the ground. As she was able to straighten out and take a deep breath of fresh air, she started running, away from the pile of decomposing bodies.

As she ran, the young man from before appeared right beside her, moving with her, although he was not running. Pushing harder, Emma could feel her energy draining. "There is nowhere to run," the man spoke from beside her, his voice taunting her. "You cannot escape us." As soon as he spoke those words, he spread his arms wide in the air and started toward her. Reaching for her neck, he followed her every pivot, every move she tried to use to get away unsuccessfully. "You belong to us, now." The cold hands tightened around her neck, stopping her in place. Emma froze with terror as the ice filled her veins. She was going to die.

And, then, there was nothing. The Lost Boys disappeared, and she found herself in the forest, gasping, her lungs unable to pull in the air because of her panic. Forcefully, she managed to calm down enough to breathe. She was on her knees and hands, shaking, her limbs weak with fear and exhaustion. Breathing deeply, she counted in her mind, knowing the dangers of hyperventilation… Rising to her feet, she leaned onto the closest tree, unable to stand on her own for a moment. She needed to get home. The only thought that repeated in her mind was to get to safety of home. There were people who knew how to deal with these things: Gold, Blue, even Regina, and she needed to get to them.

As she pushed away from the tree, steady enough to start back home, shadows converged and moved to her. The black mist rose from the ground, circling her legs. Emma hastened her steps, feeling the cold and despair of the mist seeping into her skin. Before she could move more than ten steps, the mist surrounded her and started climbing up her body, covering inch by inch of her, turning solid. She could not move, not one inch. Stuck in the mist, she watched helplessly as it came up her tights. Trying to push it away with her hands, she cursed at the ineffectiveness of the action. As the darkness claimed more and more of her form, she felt the coldness and anguish overwhelming her, and she knew that it was the mist's doing. Her hands, then her shoulders were encased in the cursed fog, pressing onto her, making it impossible for her to take in a deeper breath. Making do with short ones, she was furiously thinking of a way out, but the desolation of the mist made it hard for her to think. All she wanted to do now was to give up, to surrender to the darkness, but something in her kept fighting, kept struggling. Her muscles strained with the effort but she could not move. The darkness covered her whole, the blackness engulfing her senses. Her eyes stilled, the lids open, as she stared into the mist, the endless night, not able to blink. Her lungs burned with her inability to breathe, her ears rang with the deafening silence, and all she could smell and taste was death.

There was nothing she could do, but she refused to give up, even though every cell in her body begged for mercy of surrender, her every thought called for the peace of eternal night. The pain of the empty air in her lungs would have made her scream if she could have moved. The fear of the dark, the constant panic edged her heart to beat in a frantic rhythm, but even it started slowing down, the time in between the beats growing longer and longer. Each space of quiet was filled with tremendous grief and anguish, despair, pain and silence, on its own the most terrifying of all. At last, as it sputtered the final pulse, Emma's heart stopped. Everything stopped, leaving only nothingness in the dark.

Emma pulled herself up into the seating position, gasping for air as her hands lit with magic on their own. Shaking, drenched in her undershirt, she looked around, her eyes darting from object to object, the faint glow of her magic giving enough light for her to recognize where she was. A dream, she sighed silently with relief flooding her body. Only a dream. But, as soon as she closed her eyes in sighing relief, the pictures from her nightmare came alive, the terror racing through her blood again. "No more sleeping tonight, I guess," Emma murmured into the room, rising from the bed she had been in. Drying herself with a quick swipe of her hand, she put on her clothes and having pulled a blanket of the bed, she walked out of the room, putting it around her shoulders, to warm up her still chilled limbs.

The room she had been in was the closest one to the Queen's chambers. As Emma had declared that she had been exhausted by the time they had finished with the tour, having eaten as they had walked around the empty halls, Regina had decided to give her a room of her own, to get some rest. The older woman had said she was to look into something as she hadn't felt the need for sleep just yet. Agreeing, Emma had enjoyed the soft bed, right up to the moment when that nightmare started.

Seeing that it was still dark outside, Emma quietly passed the closed doors of the Queen's chambers and walked on into the gardens. Not familiar with the night sky, and with no watch around, Emma could not guess the time, but as there was no sign of dawn yet, it was safe to say that it was too early to be up. Walking around the ravaged plants, Emma could see what the gardens used to look like. She thought back to the earlier in the evening.

"How is it that this castle looks only abandoned, while the other one looked destroyed?" Emma asked, walking a step behind Regina, taking in the sights and seeing in the memories what it had looked like before the curse. Regina turned to her, and with a small hand gesture, invited her into a huge garden that sloped in several terraces down, each connected with the stairs and paved paths. Stepping down the steps, Regina kept silent until she reached a stone circle with earth in it. Emma knew it was a place where a tree had used to be there. The older woman sat on the stone wall, waiting for the blonde to join her.

"This castle belonged to the White family for more than five generations," Regina started when Emma sat close to her. She looked around with a look lost in past. "As they were always prominent as fair rulers and beacons of good, they always could claim friendship with fairies and other magical folk that was on the side of the good. Blue Fairy, the fairy godmother, or the mother superior as you have known her, was the family friend for decades, even centuries. Sometime before even Leopold was born, she had placed protective spells around this place, spelling every stone, every grain of sand, every bit of glass used in the construction of the castle, making it impervious to the magical attacks. When Leopold decided to remodel, I guess it could be said, Blue came and repeated the process with additions. That alone would have helped to keep the castle protected from the curse." Regina was looking around while she spoke, her eyes moving from place to place, never lingering too long. "When my mother came to the palace, she insisted adding few spells of her own. And when I took the castle for myself, I casted several spells into the mix." She sighed and looked down at her hands, placed on her crossed knee. "All in all, this was the safest place to be when the curse hit. But, people didn't know, and when they saw me go into the carriage that took me far away from the castle, they ran." She kept her head lowered, as she played with her fingers. "You see, I didn't care if they lived or died. All I cared about was to be in the Snow's castle on time, to see her face as I exacted my revenge."

Emma could hear the contrition in Regina's voice. Placing her hand over the restless ones in Regina's lap, she spoke. "You care now. That is what is important." Knowing that the brunette would not see it that way, she pressed on, bringing herself closer and using her other hand to lift Regina's chin, looking into her eyes. "You feel the pain of your actions, however late. And, that pain guarantees that you will not forget the others if you find yourself in the same situation as before." With a gentle squeeze of her hand, Emma warned Regina to keep quiet. "I can kill you on this spot right now. I can bring your head to all the people demanding justice. But, it will not bring the people you killed back. It will not turn back time, and make up for everything that was lost. So, what is the purpose of killing you? Satisfying the need of the hurt people for blood, for vengeance? You lose your head for being the Evil Queen, Rumple for being the Dark One, then who is next? Snow, for killing your and King George's soldiers? David, for impersonating the Royal Heir? Where does it end?" Emma argued with passion, refusing to lose her temper at the repeating of the situation, where Regina gets overpowered with guilt and Emma pointing out the reasons to go on, and the reasons of her forgiveness. She was willing to argue till the end of their time, if it meant she would eventually convince Regina to see herself as someone worthy of forgiveness. "This pardon people may see as a clean slate. But forget what other people think, their opinions do not matter on the subject. This pardon is your chance to do some good in the world. But, no matter what you do, it will always be remembered what you have done here. No amount of good can undo the bad, as well as no amount of bad can undo the good. Well, generally speaking, I am not talking about the magic. However, you can decide to tip the scales in your favor, and be remembered as a paragon of good, with the dark past. You can be the paragon of good because of your dark past. You know how evil works, how it seduces and you can help us fight it." Emma smiled at the older woman with an encouraging smile. "As you said before, it is all about the balance…"

Deciding to change the subject, Emma looked behind her and pondered at the empty space, where the tree used to be. Giving Regina time to gather herself, she rose from the wall and circled it, watching the earth inside. There had been a tree, she was sure of it, but there was not a trace of it now. "Where is the tree from here?" Emma asked after a while.

"You should know, since you tried to chop it down with the chain saw," Regina said pointedly with the raised eyebrow. Emma nodded sheepishly, placing her hands onto her back, before she remembered she did not have any back pockets.

"Oh, right." Emma's guilty expression forced an amused chuckle out of Regina. Going with her fingers through her hair, the blonde looked at the hole in the ground where the tree had been. "Sorry about that." Emma retook her seat beside Regina and smiled apologetically at the other woman. "After your little speech about the attributes of a Honey Crisp tree, I guessed it meant a lot to you, so I thought to hit where it hurt…"

"Ah…" Regina sighed in understanding. "If it is any consolation, you did scare the hell out of me when I heard that blasted thing start up. And, even more when I saw what you were doing to my tree." Remembering their first war, Regina smiled. And, to think the Huntsman had been right all along about their spats. "It had started badly for me. I had been reading the book and then I had seen the torn pages. When I asked Henry about it, he denied any knowledge of it, and you know he cannot bluff very well." Regina then glanced upon Emma. "Then he told me I was not his mother. And the stupid clock started working again…"

"Then you came to my room with the basket of apples," Emma interrupted with a playful smirk on her lips. "If I had taken Henry seriously, I would've known that you were threatening me from the moment I opened the door. I mean, the Evil Queen with the apples…" Emma shrugged, her eyes telling Regina that Emma had not meant any harm with her words. "I never got to try one of them. As I was to bite into one, Henry knocked it out my hand and threw it away. And, after all that praise, my mouth watered for one." Emma smirked, at the memory of their son throwing the apple behind his back in the middle of the sidewalk on the main street of Storybrooke. "By the way, who uses the word vigorous for an apple tree?"

"You remember the exact words?" Regina asked, surprised that Emma still recalled the conversation they had almost two years before.

"I tend to remember what people I consider a threat to me say to me, or around me. It helped me a lot in the past."

"Do you still consider me a threat, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, smirking, her voice taking on the haughty teasing tone Emma had been in position to hear from her before, during their time sharing on the ship.

"A threat, no. But danger, yes, absolutely." Emma looked into Regina's eyes, her green ones glinting mischievously in the evening light. "However, that is not why I remember our conversations now. I am your friend, Regina, and as a friend, I want to learn about you, as much as you are willing to share. And, also, it would be inconsiderate of me, as a friend, to forget what you have told me in confidence." Emma finished with serious expression on her face.

It wasn't much long after that the night fell, and soon after that they parted their ways, Emma barely able to walk up to her designated room as she fought to keep her eyes open. Regina graciously escorted her to the door, leaving her to get much needed rest.

Emma looked at the stone wall made specifically to be a home to a tree from Prince Henry's apple orchards. A gift from the King, to ease the pain of leaving home, she thought in the quiet of her mind, focusing her attention to it, waiting for the shakes caused by her terrors to quell. Rooting around in the earth, she found a small, almost petrified seed, lying forgotten in the ground. With the gentle care, Emma took the seed into her palm and started feeding it with her magic. She did not know what she was doing, or exactly for what reason, but she followed her instincts, and they were telling her to do this. As the seed started glowing with Emma's magic, she tilted her palm and watched as it slid back into the dirt in the stone circle. Next time, if ever Regina decided to come back to this place, there would be a Honey Crisp apple tree waiting for her. If not, well, it seemed to be a shame for the circle to be empty. Stepping away, she walked to the edge of the garden, her eyes reaching to the sea under the light of stars in the clear night. There was no Moon, but Emma didn't know if it hadn't risen yet, or it had passed its rotation. Then, this being the magic realm, and as it really did not matter, she shrugged her self-inquiry away. Leaning against a pillar, she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, as the night grew colder. It was beautiful there, even after the curse had ravaged the land. And her mother had grown up looking at that beauty every day. Feeling like the stranger she was in the Enchanted Forest, she wished for at least a bit of sense of belonging in this world, seeing that they were stuck in it. But, at least, the family was all accounted for and in one place.

"For someone who could not speak a word without yawning, and who stumbled to her bed only three hours ago, you seem unreasonably awake for this time of night," Regina spoke from behind the blonde, her steps having been unheard by the tired woman. When Emma looked over her shoulder at the brunette with the shadowed and exhausted green eyes, Regina frowned in concern. "Or, maybe not." Seeing that the Savior was still very much tired, but as Emma looked unwilling to let herself sleep, Regina concluded that it could be only one thing that would prevent the blonde from a well-deserved and much needed rest. As she had learned with Henry, the people who were awakened from various curses usually suffered lasting effects. For Henry it had been the fiery room of the Netherworld. For Emma, it might be something entirely different, but, it seemed that they both suffered the same end results. Nightmares. Regina had seen that shadowed look before, with the same tired green peering into her own eyes, but that time it had been her son, after he had woken from the dreams about the Netherworld.

"Come, there is a warm seat in front of the fireplace in my room," Regina said, gently taking Emma's shoulders, pulling her off the pillar. "It's cold out here," Regina murmured, shivering, as she was not prepared for the brisk air of the night. Pulling the reluctant woman with her, Regina climbed the stairs, and walked to her chambers. Opening the door, she ushered the blonde woman in front of herself.

Emma saw the fire blazing in the hearth, and a lounge turned to it, with a small table accompanying it, several books and scrolls on it. Across of the lounge was a comfortable looking chair, with high back, wide seat and soft looking arm rests. At Regina's insistence, she picked the chair, loath to disturb what seemed Regina's work. Taking her boots off, she climbed into it.

Having situated herself in the chair, folding her legs beneath her, Emma leaned her head to a side of the back, looking into the fire. Regina had not spoken since entering the room, trusting Emma to talk if she wanted to, or to ask anything she needed. Having continued her reading, she would throw a glance from time to time, checking upon the blonde woman. Emma was aware of the scrutiny, but she didn't want to talk about her dreams, and honestly she was too tired to even speak. Staring at the dancing flames helped her keep her mind empty, the hypnotic moves of the blaze taking most of her attention. But the warmth of the fire, as well as the peaceful cracks of wood, with the rhythmic page turning, lulled Emma to sleep and she closed her eyes.

Regina noticed when Emma dozed off, glad that the younger woman would get some rest. However, she debated with herself whether she should leave her to sleep in the chair, as it may turn to be uncomfortable position to be in after a while. As the side arguing for a proper bed won, Regina came to the chair and crouched in front of it, placing her palm onto Emma's knee.

Emma only opened her eyes, looking at the disturbance. Seeing Regina in front of her, she frowned in question. "Come to bed," Regina whispered gently, offering her hand. After Emma nodded in acquiescence, Regina rose and helped the other woman out of the chair. Leading Emma to her bed, she watched the other woman drop herself onto it face down. Smiling at the childish behavior, she covered the woman, and coming to the other side, she took off her blazer and pants, having taken her boots before she had retaken her place on the lounge. Going under the covers, she snuffed the candles with her magic, leaving the fire burning. It would burn through the night, giving out just enough light to keep the darkness away, and still faint enough not to bother her sleep. As she turned to the side, Emma moved her head, not opening her eyes.

"If this is how you understood my offer, I am sorely disappointed," Emma murmured, the teasing strong in her sleep addled voice. As Regina snorted at the bantering innuendo, Emma smiled, peering through her eyelashes on the one eye.

"Sleep," Regina admonished gently, as she made herself comfortable on the side of her large bed. "The exhaustion has taken that little sense you had," she added before Emma could say something else. "Now, sleep. We have a long day before us tomorrow, and dawn is not far away."

Emma murmured something unintelligible as she fell asleep once more, her breathing leveling almost instantly. Regina closed her eyes, and dropped into a dreamless sleep not long after Emma.

The morning came with the Sun peering through the windows of the chambers, bathing the room in soft glow of white and pale pink. When the rays of light came upon the bed, across the pillows, the glare woke Emma, as she turned away from the intrusion, squinting in defense. As she opened her eyes, she saw that the glare was from the daylight and feeling the coldness of the sheets beside her, Emma jumped out of the bed, looking around for any sign of Regina. As she saw a plate with dry meat and a pitcher of water on the table in the middle of the room, she relaxed and put her boots on. She shook out her hair, using her fingers to untangle it and pulled it in a quick tail.

Beside the pitcher of water was a message written in Regina's slanted and sharp precise cursive, telling her only to eat and then join her in the main courtyard. Grabbing all the meat, Emma drank water at one go, and rushed to the stairs. As she briskly walked down, she put on her jacket, chewing on one of the pieces she held in her hand. The message had been carefully folded and placed in the inner pocket of the jacket.

She ran into the wide space, she remembered from the day before. There she found a woman crouched in front of something, turned with her back to her. As she stepped on the gravel the yard was covered with, the woman rose and turned toward her. Regina straightened up and as she turned the long, almost to the ground, green coat fluttered around her legs uncovering her black leather pants and knee high riding boots. However the coat was not buttoned and underneath it, Regina had a shirt and a vest, neither doing much to cover her neck and upper part of her chest. Breaking a dozen of decency laws, the vest drew attention to the brunette's ample bosom, hiding it just so, making the view all the more enticing.

"Holy…" Emma mumbled before she caught herself. Swallowing uneasily, she took another bite of dried meat to stall for time, all the while she glanced up and down the other woman's clothes. "Is that what you used to wear while you were here?" Emma said after she had finished with the food.

"What?" Regina asked with such innocence in her voice, that if it had been anyone else, Emma would have honestly thought they were speaking with truthful ignorance of the subject. "You don't like it?"

Emma narrowed her eyes at the obvious play, and disregarding the words, for it would only lead to her placing her foot in the mouth, she raised her eyebrow in question. When Regina only smirked back, the Savior looked behind the brunette and saw the things Regina had been busy with. There were two backpacks on the ground, filled to the brim, with two rolls of blankets attached to them.

At Emma's pointed look, Regina led their way to the packs. "I want to look around, so I thought we would travel the regular way for a while." As she spoke she glanced at the other woman, looking for approval of her plan, her eyes betraying her need to do as she planned. Emma turned her gaze to the brunette with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Why?" Emma asked carefully, her voice calm and without inflections. She could see Regina wanting to do this, but something that to her seemed silly and took a lot of time had to have a good reason for it.

"I…" Regina started before she turned her head away, her shoulders slumping only for a brief second, but Emma had seen in nonetheless. "Forget it," she suddenly said, shrugging off her previous countenance. "Are you ready?" asked the brunette, her tone sharp and pointed, Madam Mayor appearing right before Emma's eyes.

"No," Emma spoke, but before Regina could react, she took the other woman's hands into her own. "I only wanted to hear the reason for an expedition that could take days to finish, and reach our destination. It seems important and I am interested in knowing it." The blonde focused on Regina's face. "So, I am asking again, why? But, if you really have changed your mind, then yes, I am ready."

Regina blinked rapidly before she nodded. "How do you do that?" she whispered softly, but before Emma could answer her hypothetical question, Regina took one of the packs. "I want to see the damage." This time around her voice was strong. It was apparent what damage she spoke of.

Emma picked the other pack up and shrugged it on, without questions. As Regina started, Emma followed, something coming up in her mind. "You do know there are Ogres out there? And Chimeras? And, who knows what else…" Emma spoke, as Regina led them to a hard wooden door close to the main gate. Opening the door with her magic, Regina glanced at the Savior and smiled indulgingly.

"That is why we are taking some of these with us…" she said as she lit the torch right beside the door. The light of the torch showed metal rack after metal rack, seven of them, stacked in one row filled with swords, crossbows, lances and many other kinds of weaponry. Emma entered the hidden room glancing toward Regina, as she picked out a sword similar in style to the one Regina had picked for her. She also took a leather belt for the scabbard, intending to use it to fix the sword on her back, beside the pack. In the meanwhile, Regina inspected the various offerings in bow racks. "Did you, by any chance, inherit your mother's aptitude for archery?" she asked, her eyes darting toward Emma. Seeing her shake her head in negation, she looked back at her quarry. "All right, then. A crossbow it is," she said, taking one of them and an accompanying quiver, filled with arrows.

"Do you even know to use that thing?" Emma remarked, as she took several daggers from the shelf behind Regina.

"It's quite easy." Regina demonstrated as she was speaking, proving her point. "You load, aim and shoot." With a smirk, she turned to Emma. "Much like the things you like to carry around."

"If you hadn't noticed, those things proved quite handy these past two weeks," the blonde woman replied, placing two of the daggers in the side straps of her boots. "And, I guess they are the reason you haven't yet yelled at me for taking that black thing off," she added quietly, while she was kneeling down on one knee, her hand fiddling with the straps on her other leg.

Regina came to Emma and reached gently for her face, placing her palm on the pale cheek in front of her. When the green eyes found her own she twisted her lips into an expression of sympathy. "I am not going to say much on the subject, except this: you made the choice, and I am very glad and thankful you did, but I am sorry you have suffered for it."

"He is alive because of it," Emma whispered quietly.

"And that was the only thing that mattered at the time," Regina replied knowingly. Removing her hand of Emma's face, she offered it to the other woman to help her up. Feeling that the subject was still uneasy for her companion, Regina silently helped her up, and then led the way out of the castle, following the unkempt road toward the forest, and later the hills surrounding the castle.

When she moved several dozen steps away from the gate, Regina turned and sealed the place with her magic, making it impossible to open without a magic intervention. Emma looked at her with a frown on her face but spoke nothing. Regina continued walking as if she hadn't stopped at all, Emma beside her, matching her stride for stride.

They trekked in silence, Emma following Regina's lead, as they went through forest, occasionally passing by a ruined cottage or an overgrown road. The nature had taken its course, and rather quickly too, and the presence of people had been almost erased from the area. However, the sporadic camp site, or trace of clothing spoke of at least someone roaming those parts of the forest Emma and Regina were passing through. From time to time, Regina would look around, usually by the road or a destroyed village and have a faraway look on her face Emma had learned to be remorse. After passing yet another abandoned group of houses, Emma had had enough of silence and with aplomb she entered one of the houses and sat down on a log beside overturned table. Her sudden move startled Regina, who had moved further down the road.

As Emma took out a canteen of water from her pack, she glanced around the ruined home. A piece of paper had been stuck on a wooden cover for the window, and the wind must have blown it in, Emma regarded it thoughtfully. As she sipped the water, she carefully reached for the paper. Head South – East, Safe Haven there was written in block hand writing with coal that had seeped into the paper, barely recognizable as the parchment had suffered the weather. Obviously someone was scouting the area for the survivors, sending them to the village in to the sanctuary.

Sensing the movement behind her, Emma just took another sip from the canteen. As she placed the water holder onto her knee she offered the paper to the woman still standing behind her.

Regina took the piece of paper and after reading it she nodded. With a move of her hand the paper became new, the letters written anew, this time with ink. With another flick she affixed it to the door. Then she stepped around Emma and took her seat on another log in the room. "What is wrong?"

"You are taking us deeper in land," Emma spoke, certain of her deduction. After her statement, she looked at the other woman, some part of her expecting to hear an explanation or a denial, but what came next surprised her.

"If you want to leave, you can," Regina spoke, her voice soft as she looked away, covering her move with removing her pack of her back. "I can do this on my own." Although her tone was calm and measured, her hands shook as she opened the flap. Taking out the only food she had found in the castle, the dried strips of meat, she took one as she was hungry.

"I am not leaving you alone," Emma said suddenly, as she leaned onto her knees.

"I do know how to take care of myself!" Regina bristled at the Savior's attitude. But, as she was going to rise in her anger, Emma caught her hand and pulled her down.

"That is not an issue," Emma replied, her eyes blazing with annoyance. However, she released Regina and took a breath, closing her eyes as she sighed. "I know you do. That is the reason I don't want to leave you by yourself." At Regina's confused frown, Emma once again took the brunette's hand, holding it gently in her own. "If I let you go, I am not sure you would ever come to us. And I am under strict orders to bring you back. No matter what." Even though her voice was kind and soft, the statement was firm and unyielding.

Regina gasped softly at the connotation of Emma's words, for there were only two people who would dare to tell Emma to bring her back, and only one person who would make it an order that Emma would obey. Snow, who had always been such an ardent supporter of second chances, and who passionately believed that she was Emma's True Love, had offered her a white flag of truce in a shape of the White Knight. "She asked you to take me back?" Regina whispered, surprised at Snow's actions.

"She didn't ask," Emma said, her meaning clear. She had said she had had orders… "She also knew it might take some time for you to forgive her and be willing to come back, so I am to stay with you until you do."

"But, Henry…" Regina started, before a gentle squeeze of her hand stopped her.

"He has his father, and his grandparents with him. He is not alone."

It was the end of discussion. Regina could not think of anything else to add, and if she were honest with herself, the Savior's insistence to stay by her side pleased her in a way she could not explain neither did she want to. As she chewed on the strap of meat, she rose from the log, gesturing to Emma to follow her suit, and leave the house before her. As they walked away from the village, Regina led them deeper into the forest, her mind unwilling to see another destroyed human habitat. Several hours passed before they came upon a small stream in a clearing that was bordered with boulders on one side, and the trees on the other. The brunette looked up, and noticed the Sun was close to the horizon in the West. It was a time for a night stop anyway, she concluded, lowering her pack on the ground. With her magic, she summoned several small rocks out of the stream and made a fire place, close to the boulders that would give them natural protection from wind. Emma silently scanned the make shift camp place and nodded in approval. Not that she had been an expert on outdoor camping, but it seemed sound to her.

Emma dropped her pack and coat to the corner she concluded was to be their sleeping place, and with tired puff, she went in search of kindling and wood. Mindful of Snow's warnings from the last time she was in the Forest, she kept herself within the voice distance from the camp, as she gathered the wood. She came back with her arms full, not sure if it was enough to last the night. However, as she was exhausted, she couldn't bring herself to care. Dropping her armload beside the fire place, she glanced around looking for Regina.

The older woman was washing something in the stream, having filled the canteens already, the soft humming spreading from her lips into the air. Beside her was a small pot or better said, a cauldron, and occasionally, Regina would put something in, her melodious humming uninterrupted. As Emma heard the brunette, she smiled at the tune, recognizing the one Snow used to whistle while doing her chores in Storybrooke. Before she was caught with a silly grin on her face, Emma decided to make herself useful and started building a fire, along with shaping two prong like twigs, that would be used as a carrier for the cauldron. As she finished with the making of the necessary parts, Emma blew gently onto the logs, her magic making the wood catch the blaze instantly, without much of smoke.

Moving away from the fire, Emma unbuttoned her jacket and a few buttons of her shirt, cooling herself down. Deciding to wash up before supper, she rose to her feet heavily, and shuffled toward the water. As she drew near, she saw that Regina was cutting up dried vegetables into the cauldron. At the promise of the warm and tasty soup, Emma mumbled in satisfaction, as she lowered herself down gracelessly. Before she could even say anything to Regina, a big yawn interrupted her.

A soft snigger came to her from Regina, as the older woman glanced upon her, her hands not stopping their work. "Hi to you too," she said, humor in her voice and her eyes.

"Sorry," Emma spoke with some embarrassment as she submerged her hands into the creek. Hissing at the coldness of the water, she quickly splashed her face. As she turned to rise, Regina's voice stopped her.

"Could you put this on fire? I'll be a minute." At Emma's nod, Regina graciously lifted herself up and hopped over the water, going into the woods. Following her with her eyes, Emma picked the cauldron and as Regina disappeared from her line of sight the Savior walked to the fire, fixing their supper atop of it, her eyes darting around, scanning the forest around the camp.

Suddenly a cackle came from behind her, from the direction of the boulders. Emma took out her sword, moving slowly to the source of noise. As she stepped out from the shelter of the stone she saw three hideous creatures hiding in the shadows. Each of the louts had a club that they brandished with malice. Seeing the hateful grins on the creatures she placed her sword in front of her, ready to defend herself, not knowing what to expect.

"What have we got here?" one of them spoke in a growl, pulling out a long curved blade from beneath his cloak. The beastly face peered at her from the darkness of the shadows. "We haven't had meat in ages," he added and grunted in rhythm. Emma felt her stomach drop as she realized the creature was laughing. "Get her," came the order and the remaining two came at her, brandishing clubs and the similar blades as their leader.

Emma placed herself into the position for receiving an attack, her sword in front of her in one hand, as the other started glowing with magic, making the shadows recede a bit. At the display of magic, the creatures stopped their attack, still too close to Emma's comfort. But, after a second of deliberation they attacked again, their weapons aimed for Emma. But before they reached her, Emma pushed them back in a sudden burst of fire shooting from her hand. The blazing trail changed into the thick chain as soon as the attackers were pushed several feet away and it swirled around them, tying them together into one bunch. With a pleased smirk upon her face, Emma summoned several balls of light and left them floating in the air above the monsters she had subdued. Sheathing her sword, she came closer to them, seeing their faces for the first time, as they tried to escape the glare of light.

"What am I to do with you?" Emma asked, walking around her captives, one of her hands on her hip, and the other one on her chin. Now, in the light she knew what those creatures were. As she remembered the story of her mother meeting 'Prince Charming' the descriptions of trolls came vividly to her mind. And these things fitted the portrayals to their teeth.

She had no doubt that she would have been harmed or worse if she had not defended herself, but she was loath to kill them. And, it would be foolish to release them as they still posed a threat. There was an idea, to leave them tied up during the night, but as tired as she was, she really wanted to catch some real sleep, not worry about someone getting free and slitting her throat in the middle of the night.

"May I offer a suggestion?" Regina asked from behind her, leaning on the boulder. Emma turned and frowned at the deferential tone Regina had spoken in. As Regina made herself known, the three captives started grumbling in fear, having recognized the Queen.

Emma nodded carefully, interested in what Regina had to say. She watched the former Queen walk to them, her gate elegant and provocative announcing the Queen this realm had known. The familiar smirk appeared on the brunette's face as she looked at Emma, having walked an entire circle around the captives. If she did not know any better, Emma would shudder with the malicious power presented in the whole 'Evil Queen' behavior. But, Emma noticed the mischievous glint in the dark eyes, and she liked when Regina was having fun without harming anyone.

"You could turn them into something more…" Regina spoke, breaking off in a dramatic pause as she looked into the scared faces of the prisoners. "Manageable," she added with the threat suffusing her voice as she made the crushing gesture with her hand. For a moment, Emma could see her destroying hearts in her hand with the same expression of power and destruction. Quickly, she shook off the image, as she saw that the show was not over. As the prisoners whimpered in dread, recognizing the motion of her hand, Regina continued. "Or you could just… You know…" Regina made a sweeping gesture with her hand, as if she would send someone away, followed by the exhalation of air. Emma had to place her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud at the frightened and paled faces of the trolls.

"What do you prefer?" Regina asked, again with her deferential tone. "Your Grace?"

The title made the captives fall silent in surprise. If the Queen called someone by the title, it would mean that someone was much powerful than the Queen herself, and as they knew there had been only one person more powerful than the Queen before the curse, and he had been captured a long time ago, never to be heard of again. And, now in the light of the Queen's victory – with her curse doing what she had promised to do, if she considered the blonde more powerful than herself, the woman must have been someone terrible indeed.

At the startled gasp of the hostages, Emma understood the tone and the title. It was the power game.

"I don't think I am feeling merciful for giving them an easy death," Emma spoke, adopting the coldest attitude she could. "Maybe we should leave them around for Ogres… There are Ogres around here, right?"

"Please, Your Majesties, there are no Ogres here," the leader spoke in his grumble, trying to move from underneath the chains. But, as Emma smiled at his obvious lie, he stopped struggling.

"Then you wouldn't mind being left here on your own, would you?" Emma added, coming closer to the leader using magic to make him look into her face. The night had already fallen and the only sources of light in the shade of boulders were the floating orbs of light. "And I can even yell, and you wouldn't mind."

Regina came to her and gently insinuated herself in between Emma and the trolls, before Emma could do anything stupid, like summon the Ogres. "Your Grace, I suggest you be lenient with them unless you don't want to kill them by pure fear. If that is the case, then you are doing well." Placing her hand onto Emma's back, Regina guided the Savior away from the captives, taking them to the safe distance. "You don't want them roaming around while we sleep, and you don't want to kill them," Regina said softly, as Emma nodded, summarizing the blonde's quandary. She looked into the troubled eyes and smiled gently, her face hidden from the prisoners by her own body. "Why don't we send them away?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, turning her head as she looked into the dark eyes in front of her filled with understanding and comfort. "I thought you could only transport yourself with the poofing magic? Well, Cora did it, but…" she whispered, confused.

"Oh, no, one can move anything or anyone, if they have enough magic, and you, my dear, have more than enough," Regina answered with patience and pride she had often showed on the ship while they had been training. "If you are unsure, I could guide you?" It was the unsure tone of the brunette's voice that got through to Emma. The subject of joining their magics together was still touchy for the older woman.

Emma nodded but as she raised her hand, letting her magic rise up within her, she turned to Regina. "Why can't you do it?"

Regina smiled softly, as she leaned her head to a side in an expression of dismay at her failing, before her lips turned back to her soft smile that only two people had seen so far. "If it was one of them, or even two, I would have been able to do so, but three is beyond even me…" Regina offered an explanation unobtrusively.

Emma nodded, and lifted her hand once more, her magic showing as it sparked off her fingertips. "Regina," Emma said quietly, her eyes showing the unnerved and unsure Savior. Regina placed her hands on Emma's shoulders as she came from behind her. Pulling herself up with the blonde woman, Regina placed her mouth next to Emma's left ear.

"Let your magic flow as if you are to transport yourself but do not let yourself move," Regina instructed gently, feeling the magic fill up the woman in front of her. "See the place you want to send them in your mind, just like you did for yourself." As Emma did what she said, Regina could feel her own magic react to Emma's, rising from within her to join with its companion. She tried to suppress it, focusing on telling Emma the last part. "Send your magic to them, like you are attacking them, only this time it is the transportation spell. Can you do that?"

Not a second after she finished speaking, Regina felt a surge in the air and with a loud pop the trolls were gone. Emma sighed happily, having seen what she had done. But, too quickly the exertion of magic caught up with her, and Emma felt weak, especially after the trek of the day and the poorly slept night. Before she could step away from Regina, her legs started shaking and suddenly there was an arm around her middle holding her close to the woman behind her.

"Lean on me for a moment," Regina whispered gently, holding the Savior to herself. It was normal for a spell of that magnitude used for the first time to force the practitioner to rest. When she had done the transportation for the first time, sending a message to her father while he had been travelling, she had to rest for a whole day, suffering headaches and weakness. That Emma was still on her feet, albeit with help, meant that Emma was indeed very powerful.

Emma placed her hand onto the gentle one on her belly as she turned slowly, coming to Regina's left side. Letting the arm slide around the small of her back, she moved slowly toward the camp, pulling Regina along. With another yawn Emma reached the blanket that apparently Regina had placed when she had gotten back. Lowering herself gingerly with the other woman's help, she smiled into the worried face, her smirk easing Regina's nerves. The dark haired woman knelt beside the Savior, looking into her eyes, checking for signs of magical exhaustion. Happy with her exam, she turned to the soup simmering in the cauldron. Taking out some of it in a small metal bowl, she offered it to Emma carefully holding it in her hand, as the soup was hot.

"It's not as good as Snow's but it is manageable," Regina said after she took a portion for herself. She glanced at Emma eating without pause and smiled. They had been walking for leagues and leagues that day, Emma following Regina's lead without a word, without asking for a break or even a moment to catch her breath and the Savior hadn't slept much the night before, as her sleep was often troubled with uneasy dreams. Regina had been aware of it as she had slept lightly, in the bed beside her.

"It's good," Emma mumbled, not even swallowing her mouthful. With eager moves, she lifted herself up on her knees and shuffled to the cauldron, taking more of the soup. She started eating right away, ignoring the slight burn of the hot liquid. She finished with her meal, and watched Regina eat with slow and measured moves that belonged in the finest dining rooms not the forest floor.

Not willing to interrupt the brunette eating, Emma just took in the details of the other woman. Regina was sitting on her heels by the fire, her back straight as she held the bowl with one hand in front of her, and the other held a spoon she was lifting to her mouth. The black leather pants were tight on her, as it probably had been the plan, showing Regina's sculpted legs in a different, more powerful light. The woman had stamina to walk all the way she had, without a complaint, after twenty eight, well now it's more like nine, years spent as a bureaucrat, sitting behind a desk. It must have been all those ankle breaking heels she had used to wear all day long, Emma thought, as her eyes followed the seam of the pants down to the boot. The black leather boot had a heel but it was a moderate one, only two inches and it went well with the whole style.

But what really caught her attention was the vest. The intricate braiding of the leather straps that went down vertically after an inch of glossy black leather, giving out the look of stripes, was drawing her eyes. Emma followed the lines upward as she considered the choice of colors for the former Mayor. Since the day she had met Regina, Emma noticed that the woman favored dark colors, mostly gray and black, with some splash of white, purple or dark blue. Even the décor of her home and office showed the particular pattern of black and white, with the emphasis on the black details. Except the white horse statue on the mantle in her office, Emma remembered. She knew now it was a memory of time from before she had met Leopold White, when she was still pure and unsullied by the machinations of her parents. The battle of identities, Emma concluded, had been always present. With a blink Emma focused on the present, her eyes finding her view of the upper part of the vest, and the white shirt underneath it unobstructed. She narrowed her eyes not knowing what was different from just a moment ago.

"Found something interesting, dear?" Regina's amused voice pierced her confusion. Emma's eyes darted upwards to Regina's smirking face, with realization what had been different. Regina had finished eating and lowered the bowl down.

"Yeah…" Emma mumbled before she cleared her throat. "Let me get those, I'll wash them." She rose on her feet, picking the bowls and the now empty cauldron and walked to the stream. Regina watched Emma move away, chuckling silently at the flustered Savior. She had noticed the intense stare she had been subjected to, but as she had looked at Emma to rebuke her for her blatant ogling, she had seen the look in the green eyes. Emma had been lost to memories, and she could see the moment the blonde had returned to the present time with the slight change in her eyes. The intense focus had come back into the gaze, followed by confusion. Regina could not resist the quip, flattered by the attention she had been receiving from the other woman.

While Emma was taking care of the dishes, Regina checked the fire and then got up to place several warning and protecting spells around their camp site. The wandering trolls and various other things in the night made camping dangerous. Soon she returned to the fire, making a place for her to sleep. She heard Emma return, her moves slow and tired as she lowered the cauldron and bowls on the rock beside the fire, careful not to get dirt and dust onto them.

"Were you really going to summon the Ogres?" Regina asked, as she fussed with her blanket, glancing at Emma, who had dropped on the ground and stretched out on her cover.

"Why? It worked for me before…" Emma answered placing her hands below her head, sighing as several joints popped as she tensed her spine.

"What exactly worked for you before? The way I heard it, the Ogre would have made a pancake out you if Snow was not there to save you?" Regina said as she took her seat.

Emma looked toward her and narrowed her eyes in recognition as she realized where Regina had gotten the information. "You've been talking to Mulan…" she said as she looked away, her eyes focusing on the starry sky. "She didn't tell you how my trick with Ogres made Hook tell the truth," Emma added.

"Your trick? You mean, terrifying the people by attracting the angry giant monsters that incidentally eat people?" Regina teased, her voice gentle. But then her countenance grew serious. "You do know you cannot fight an Ogre with magic, don't you?" At that Emma looked at the brunette with surprise on her face, so Regina decided to continue. "It has something to do with their skin, makes it tough to kill them. If the magic was the answer the old Dark One would have destroyed them in the Ogre Wars centuries ago."

"Huh," Emma huffed in disappointment. "Good to know. Is there something else?" She lifted to her elbow, looking at Regina with the interest in her eyes.

"Well, there is one thing…" Regina started. Seeing Emma's encouraging look she sighed and continued. "While within borders of my kingdom, the wolves are protected by the Royal Decree. They cannot be hunted or killed." Emma raised her eyebrow in question at the strange law. But then she remembered the story she had read in the book. The Huntsman had asked the Queen to protect the wolves as the payment for his services. As understanding came to her eyes, Emma looked into Regina's eyes, shaded by the angle she had placed herself at, away from the fire. "Yes, I promised to Graham."

The silence fell onto the campsite, the tranquil night air interrupted only by the solemn cracking of the fire and breathing of the two women who did not know what to say to each other after the mention of the old Sheriff of Storybrooke. Emma lied back onto her blanket, using the lower half as the ground cover and the upper part as the blanket. Her coat was bundled into a makeshift pillow. Turning away from the fire, and Regina, Emma covered herself and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.

Regina looked at the back turned to her and sighed softly, suddenly feeling cold regardless of her proximity to the fire. Slowly, she placed herself onto the blanket covered ground, the back pack serving as her pillow. Shrugging her coat over herself, she looked up into the sky. It had had been years, even before the curse had been casted, since she had spent a night outside, in a simple camp. The last time she had done it had been when Snow had rescued her from her own soldiers. And before that, it had been with Daniel when she had snuck out to see him. Now, she was with the Savior…

The memories of her time with Daniel were heavy on her mind. She still loved him, but she had realized in the previous days that her love for him had changed during the years she had spent avenging his death. He had a special place in her heart and he always would, but she now realized he was more of an ideal to her rather than a real person. And she herself had changed in the time, and she was sure that if Daniel had been restored with Whale's science that he would not be able to reconcile her and her actions of the Evil Queen with the kind good hearted girl he once had known.

A tear glided down her cheek as she looked up to the stars. She would rage against the Fate and Destiny with all her power if it would have gotten her anywhere, for it hardly seemed fair to be doomed for the decisions of her parents. Sins of the fathers, an errant thought came, and Regina sighed. It did not matter, for what was done was done. She might have been the daughter of Cora and Rumplestiltskin, doomed to suffer for their choices, but she had made some choices of her own and they had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She had chosen to become the Evil Queen, and reasons were not as important as the consequences.

Shaking away the grim and pointless thoughts, Regina closed her eyes. It would be so much easier to leave everything, everyone and go to a place where no one heard of the Evil Queen or the Madam Mayor. What would be better than forgetting everything? With a half a mind she considered the idea that if she ever got back to Storybrooke she could pass the barrier and just keep going, away from all the heartache and disappointment. And, if she forgot everything in the process, all the better.

As she sighed at her own thoughts and the gloomy ways they took, she felt something move beside her. As the protective spells were not triggered she decided to keep her eyes closed not willing to talk to the Savior. But her pretense only lasted a moment as she felt a gentle touch wipe the tear tracks of her cheeks. She opened her eyes and saw Emma leaning over her. Her eyes held apology but there was something else in them, something that shadowed them, making them appear cold and flat in the fire light. As Emma's eyes kept darting around, scanning the woods, Regina took hold of one of her hands. The rapid pulse she felt under her fingers made her rise with concern, looking into Emma's face. The Savior looked pale. When she sat up, she saw that Emma had moved her blanket closer to her, lining it up with her own. It had been done in complete silence and care to not disturb her, Regina realized, her heart squeezing at the thought that the Savior had already suffered a nightmare powerful enough to make the tough woman search comfort, and that Emma refused to wake her for it, probably out of some feeling of gallantry or some other nonsense.

With care, Regina gently pulled the younger woman into her arms, leading the blonde head onto her shoulder. Only then she felt the shudders shaking the other woman, and she squeezed her arms, pulling Emma closer, warming her chilled body with her own. She felt Emma's hands grip at her back, burying her head into Regina's neck. Suddenly, Regina felt something wet drip onto her skin and with comfort brought out of understanding she placed her hand into Emma's hair, holding the crying woman close. With a quiet voice she murmured softly the comforting words, and as Emma's shivering stopped and her breathing eased, she started humming an old song, as it came to her mind. The words shaped instantly in her mind, and she crooned them to the still awake but calmed Savior. The song was one of many that minstrels in Leopold's court favored. It spoke of love and endurance of it in face of many dangers and foes, and in the end the two meet, having conquered every obstacle…

Emma gently released her hands, as she moved away from Regina when she had stopped murmuring. With care she untangled herself from Regina's grasp and leaned her head onto her palm, as she leaned onto her elbow, looking down at the brunette. The woman had accepted her without question and comforted her with ease, even though Emma had shut her out only hours before. As the fire still burned, she could see the faint salty tear tracks on her face, and she remembered the guilt that had attacked her as soon as she had seen them when she had pulled the blanket closer. With infinite care she placed her palm onto Regina's cheek, her thumb rubbing the mark of tears. At the gentle touch, the older woman closed her eyes. "I am sorry," she heard Emma whisper softly. Blinking her eyes open, she saw the regret in the green eyes above her. "For earlier…"

"Emma…"

"I just didn't know what…"

"Emma," Regina started again, when Emma broke her words.

"I know what you did to him. I mean, I knew it all along, and it was confirmed with the sharing, but it was still…" Emma struggled with her words, not knowing how to express what she had felt and was still feeling. "I had forgiven you. Never doubt that. It just…"

"Emma," Regina said gently as one more time Emma couldn't finish the sentence. Regina reached up and placed her fingers over Emma's lips, stilling them. "You don't need or have to apologize. I know." With a gentle look she moved her head, leaning it a bit to side so their eyes would be perfectly lined. "It is I who should apologize for…" Regina said but before she could finish Emma moved her hand slightly off her cheek and placed her thumb over Regina's still moving lips. The surprise of having her own gesture used against her kept Regina silent.

Emma kissed the fingers on her lips and gently moved her head, dislodging them of their position. "No. No more apologies for the past. There are too many things we should ask for forgiveness for and if we continued with it, for months nothing else would leave our mouths but 'I am sorry'." Emma sighed as her finger traced the scar on Regina's upper lip. Her eyes focused onto the thin line that had tickled her imagination since the day she had met the Madam Mayor. She felt the pull of the soft lips and lowering her head slowly, her eyes darted to the dark ones who watched her carefully, with interest. "And, I can think of so many other ways to keep our mouths busy," Emma whispered with an edge of seduction creeping into her voice, as she got so close that she felt Regina's breathing on her own skin. Inching her head a bit lower, she connected their lips, moving her finger away, but keeping the hand on Regina's face, gently keeping it in place. As the lips touched Emma felt electricity run through her as it burned every cell in her body. The magic rose in her making her skin glow white in the dimness of the night.

Regina lied frozen as she realized what Emma had intended to do, unable to stop the blonde as she was not ready. But, the moment her lips felt another pair the immense swirl of power and emotions rose from within her, taking her breath, along with her reason. The tendrils of her magic passed through her blood, rushing to the surface. All too soon Emma moved away, lifting her head, as she looked into her eyes. Regina saw the power glow in Emma's eyes, and as she was close enough, the brunette could see the purple reflection in Emma's eyes as well. Breathing heavily she took stock of her body, surprised to see that her arm was on Emma's back, and the hand of the other was on the blonde's face, mirroring the one on her own. With a light pull she brought Emma's head back, this time returning the kiss. Again, the surge of magic and emotions was overpowering.

It wasn't the kiss that took her breath away. As the kisses went, those two were alright. Good, but not earthshattering. It was the acceptance and love beyond the kiss that shook Regina to the core. And the magic that reacted to Emma's touch in the most unexpected ways was not helping her find her footing.

Once more, Emma lifted her head, and with a gentle smile, looked into Regina's eyes. After several seconds of just breathing and watching each other, Regina felt the magic ease and saw that the glow was disappearing from Emma's eyes, the green of them becoming prominent once again. With a silly grin on her face, she pulled Emma into a hug, burying her head into Emma's shoulder. The suddenness of her reaction made Emma explode in deep joyous laughter that shook her frame. Regina only giggled in answer, enjoying the closeness.

After several minutes, they settled for sleep, sharing several more kisses, each provoking the same reaction, although it was only the lips melding. Exhausted, Emma fell asleep first. Regina watched the Savior sleep, using the time to catch her breath, before she lifted herself and pulled a piece of paper and a quill with an inkwell out of her backpack. Casting glances toward Emma, she composed a letter, muttering softly when the ink would run and ruin her precise handwriting. With magic she fixed most of the letter, and she folded it, willing it away to Henry. After she was finished, she packed her bag, and lowered herself down. Emma had turned to her in her sleep and with soft sigh Regina lowered her head onto the blonde's shoulder, placing her arm around Emma's middle, immeasurably comfortable with the position. Deciding to let go of her reservations and fears, as Emma would rampage through them with her bullhead approach, she closed her eyes, feeling absolute peace after a very long time.

As the first light of the day reached her face, Regina came aware of a hand gently passing over her back, the soft caress tracing unrecognizable traces over her vest. Opening her eyes she smiled at the position. The very first morning on the ship found them in the same position with Regina's hand over Emma's heart. Covered with her cloak, Regina was warm as Emma's arms held her underneath it. She wriggled her fingers over Emma's chest making the blonde woman chuckle, as she too remembered the conversation of the first morning on Jolly Roger.

"Hey," Emma spoke gently. "Good morning."

Regina only pushed herself closer to the other woman in the answer. Emma chuckled softly and kissed the forehead in front of her lips. They spent several minutes in silence, relishing the comfort of each other.

However, they knew that they could not stay forever. With quick moves they rose and packed up the camp, eating the last bits of the meat strips for breakfast. Every time they would come close to each other, one would reach the other, establishing the connection with a simple hand hold or a soft brush of their shoulders. Finally, as they were set to leave, Regina offered her hand in silence, sighing with relief when Emma took it.

The brunette guided them through the forest, noting that there were Ogres nearby and gesturing to Emma to keep quiet she led them carefully toward the general direction of the Safe Haven. But, as they had to walk slowly, they didn't cover much ground. Close to evening, Regina found another brook and followed it to a small waterfall, deciding it would be a good place for camping.

Sending Emma to find wood for the fire, Regina started searching for a rabbit that she had seen flee the small clearing. They had no meat left and there were not enough of the vegetables for another broth, so she was going hunting. With a small flick of her wrist, the hare flew into her hand.

While Emma was building fire, and later setting the camp, Regina prepared the meat for baking. As she had seen Emma watch her carefully several times during the evening, she knew that everything she needed for making the supper would be ready the moment she came to the fire. And as she had thought, the four poles were buried into the ground at the edge of the fire, their ends split to hold the two barbecue sticks with meat on them. As she sat by the fire to monitor the meat, she gave Emma some paper and her quill with ink.

"What do you need this for?" Emma asked as she looked at the quill in her hand.

"I thought you wanted to write to Henry…" Regina spoke absently, turning one of the twigs.

"With this?" Emma said, as she looked at Regina with consternation. "I have problem writing with a fountain pen, and you want me to use the actual quill?" But, as Regina only raised her eyebrow in her cocky fashion, Emma gritted her teeth and started composing a note for her son, often swearing when an ink blot would cover a part of the parchment, or she would smear the words she wrote. But at last she managed to put together a small letter. With pride, she showed it to Regina. The brunette read it with tender look in her eyes and she showed Emma how to clear the blots. Again, with guidance, she directed the blonde woman how to send it to Henry and as she watched the letter disappear in the soft swirl of bluish white mist, she heard Emma sigh in triumph.

Emma kissed her cheek in exuberant move, before she left to wash her hands in the pool beneath the waterfall. Regina watched her in the growing darkness, enticed by the careless walk Emma exhibited. She was happy - Regina realized with surprise, feeling pleased with the knowledge. Emma was happy and almost skipping toward the fire, as Regina's eyes traveled across her face. Feeling the scrutiny, Emma smiled at the woman, dropping herself beside her companion, stretching her legs in front of her. With a wide grin she looked at Regina, making the other woman smile in response to her antics.

When the meat was roasted enough, Emma moved them closer to the small cliff, leaning against it with her back. Inviting Regina to sit in between her legs, she took the meat and welcomed the woman. Regina leaned onto Emma's front with her side, placing her arm around Emma's shoulders. With surprise she noticed that Emma arranged their weapons close, within the reach of both of them. At her questioning look, Emma shrugged. "There is something in the forest. It was watching me while I gathered the wood."

Even though she herself had been in the forest, scouring the brush for their supper and had not felt the presence, she did not discount Emma's senses. It was quite possible that there was something waiting, but she had placed the warning spells and several others around their camp site, just like the evening before. However, for Emma's peace of mind she would remain cautious. They ate in relative silence, occasionally interrupting the quiet meal with an observation or a question. When they finished, Emma nuzzled into Regina's neck, humming in fulfillment. Quickly, they rearranged themselves onto one of the blankets, covering with the other, as they held each other. With a kiss goodnight they both surrendered to sleep quite soon.

A soft cry roused Regina from her light sleep. The moment she opened her eyes she did not know why she was awake, what had been that disturbed her slumber but again a quiet moan came from beside her, making her alert right away. Rising to her elbow, she leaned toward the woman beside her, and she saw the distress on the Savior's face. Emma was whimpering in her sleep, obviously tortured by another instance of her nightmares. As the blonde had been exhausted by the lack of sleep and the hard pace they had been using for the past two days, Regina was loath to wake her, and yet she did not want to let her suffer her dreams anymore. She sidled close to the other woman and with utmost care she took her into her arms, moving Emma's body just so that the blonde's head would rest on Regina's shoulder while the rest of her figure would lie almost on top of the older woman. Cradling the Savior in her arms, Regina gently passed her fingers through Emma's hair, sighing with relief as she felt the blonde's turmoil ease with the soft caress. Covering them both with the blanket, Regina kissed Emma's forehead in affection and concern, wishing for the Savior to have better dreams. With the soft and rhythmic breathing on top of her, the brunette was soon lulled back to the light sleep, confident that she would be awakened with any change in Emma's breath, or by any move.

The Sun slowly came up from the east, lighting the small clearing with a soft pinkish glow. It was a brisk morning, cold enough so the air leaving the two sleeping women was turned to mist. As the fire had burned out just minutes before, the warmth of the camp rapidly dissipated. Emma, still sleeping, burrowed deeper into the heat surrounding her, seeking more warmth. The muffled groan that sounded after her move awakened her, and she frowned in surprise. How had she gotten there? But, then her innate mischievousness took her over, and she burrowed her face into Regina's neck, kissing the soft skin under her lips. At the soft moan, she realized that the brunette hadn't woken yet, but with the stimulation she was about to, any second now. A hand climbed up her back, and Emma took it as a sign to up the stakes. Lifting herself on to her elbow she looked at the still sleepy Regina's face, and smiled gently at the woman. She lowered her lips onto the enticing mouth in front of her, and murmuring softly she wished Regina a good morning before kissing the woman again, this time with more passion in it.

Still in the haze of her sleep, Regina replied to the kiss with passion of her own, pulling Emma toward her. The magic rose from within her and spread out through her body along with heat. She could feel her magic seep into Emma through her hands, as well as Emma's came to her with every touch the blonde initiated. The feeling was overwhelming; it was like she was high on best drugs all the worlds could offer, and she would know because magic was one of those drugs. Her pulse raced, her heart was pumping so hard she thought that it wished to join Emma's, by jumping out of her chest. Regina felt tingly all over, and atop it all she was getting aroused, and it felt better than good. But before she could summon the strength of will to stop Emma from taking them to the levels she wasn't ready yet, Emma moved her head away, breathing heavily. The blonde leaned her forehead onto Regina's cheek, her eyes glowing.

"Is this going to happen every time we kiss?" Emma asked softly, her body shaking with the restrained magic overflowing from her. With a grunt she raised her head a bit, to look into Regina's eyes that still held the purplish hue. "Not that I mind," she continued with a sassy grin. "The more will be mind-blowing." Her remark, followed by the lewd smirk made Regina punch Emma's shoulder lightly, chuckling softly at the grumbled complaint. "Seriously, though." Emma started, moving slightly away, allowing Regina to rise, as she sat on her feet. She gestured toward her hands with concern. The light crackled off Emma's palms, as small sparks were flying off in the air from them. "I cannot suppress it further than this," she said, looking into Regina's confused eyes. "And, if I didn't suppress it at all, I don't know what it would have done." The concern, tinged with fear, was obvious in Emma's voice.

Regina knelt beside the other woman, taking her hands into her own. The moment she did so, the magic flew into her, mixing with her own, making her gasp. Worried, Emma tried to take away her hands but Regina held on, intertwining their fingers. "It's okay. I can do this." While their palms were pressed against each other firmly, Regina was looking into Emma's eyes. "You are an amazingly powerful woman, Emma," Regina spoke, as she discerned that Emma needed the encouragement and reassurance. "And your body is not used to it completely. It will, in time and practice, and then, there would be no one to be your equal regarding magic." As she was speaking, Emma felt the power draining out of her, and she watched carefully for any sign of trouble in Regina's eyes. Not understanding how it was possible for Regina who was weaker in power than Emma to withstand the so much of the magic. Her wonder must have shown in her eyes because Regina smiled softly at the Savior. "The Death curse I absorbed was the preparation I needed for this." For a moment Emma did not know what Regina had meant but then she saw the memories, realizing for the first time what the brunette had gone through to bring them back. The Death curse had been powerful enough to kill Cora, but when Regina had taken it, with Regina's knowledge of magic, it had worked its way through Regina's system making it more resistant to future magic.

"I didn't know," Emma said softly in apology.

"I didn't want you to know," Regina replied, her gentle smile explanation enough for the Savior. With the knowledge she had of the older woman, she could see all the reasons why Regina hadn't told her about it. Only seconds more passed before Regina released the hold on Emma's hands. But, before she could pull out her palms away, Emma gripped them tightly though gently, and kissed each hand in hers own on the knuckles in gratitude for the help.

After several more minutes spent in silence, just being close to each other, Regina rose up, looking at the sky. The Sun had risen above the horizon a while before, heating the air with its mellow warmth, usual for the autumn. But, there were heavy stormy clouds, rolling in from the West and they promised rain in the afternoon. Therefore, she wanted to get moving on before long, and she also wanted a good meal before the temperature dropped with the inevitable downpour…

Emma followed her lead and started packing up the camp, leaving the dishes out for breakfast, all the while teasing the other woman gently for her reluctance to be out in the rain. For God sake, they had lived in Maine! The magically preserved remains of the hare they had the evening before were placed onto the newly built fire. Emma sat next to the fire, with a simple task of minding the meat, but the view she had of the woman was much more enticing. With her white shirt sleeves pulled up to her upper arms, the cuffs neatly folded and refolded up, and in her black pants and vest, Regina was a breathtaking sight. The way her hips sashayed while she walked around the camp, taking care of mundane things, drew Emma's eyes to a shapely behind.

"Stop ogling me and watch the meat," Regina spoke, not turning around. Although the rebuke sounded sharp in Emma's ears, Regina was smiling, unseen by the Savior while she packed the blankets away. She joined the blonde, chuckling at the blushing woman as she offered the slightly charred breakfast. "Well, I guess it's my fault. I don't know what I was thinking by putting you in charge of the food?!" Regina spoke with a slight tease, shaking her head.

"It is your fault!" Emma replied quickly, before she gulped. "Erm… You were… You should be honored by the attention," Emma tried to defend herself, but before she even finished talking she realized how stupid was what she had said.

"Where I come from, a subpar meal served to a Royalty is a ground for a capital punishment," Regina said, keeping her face straight. "And, I may not be the Queen any more, but I am still a Royal," she added her voice gaining the threatening edge. Emma stopped eating in shock, her face still wearing the trace of the previous embarrassment. At the gaping, Regina could not fight herself anymore and burst out laughing.

When Emma groused at Regina's mirth, the brunette calmed herself down, and placed her palm on the blonde's upper arm. "Well, thank you for the compliment," she said as a peace offering. After Emma shyly smiled at her, Regina continued eating.

Suddenly, Emma jumped to her feet, reaching for her sword, her eyes looking around. Regina followed her up, taking her crossbow with her. As she saw nothing around them that could be threatening, she looked at the blonde with question in her eyes. Emma shook her head, lowering her sword, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. "I could have sworn something was posing to attack." She looked toward Regina and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I am on edge…" she said, placing the sword back into the scabbard with a dismissive move. But before the brunette could reach the Savior, something swooped in from the shadows of the trees, the massive wings flapping in the air, jumping right at Regina, throwing her down on the ground.

Reacting instinctively, Emma drew her sword again and created a ball of light in her free hand. She did not dare attack while Regina was still under the beast, and she knew that if she tried to pull the monster off the woman, by magic or physically, she might injure Regina. And, to prove her point, the beast flew off in the air, thrown away with a powerful blast of magic from the brunette. But it did not keep it away for long. It ran toward Emma, skillfully avoiding the balls of energy the blonde was throwing at it, and jumped at the Savior. However, Emma was ready and she pushed it away, even further than Regina had.

"Let me guess," Emma said, breathing heavily while she watched the creature growl two dozen feet away, circling them. It looked like a lion, but it was bigger than any lion Emma had seen. And it was red, with wings spanning out of its back. But, what was the weirdest of all - it had a human face on the head of a lion, a beautiful face of a man, ruggedly handsome, with piercing ice blue eyes. However, when it growled, Emma saw row after row of jagged sharp teeth in its mouth. "It's a chimera."

"No," Regina whispered, as she watched the creature glare at them, ready to strike at the moment's notice. "Even worse. It's a manticore. I didn't know there were any left." She grabbed Emma's shoulder, giving the blonde the warning. "Keep away from its tail. Don't let it touch you. It is poisonous." She underlined the importance of her words by squeezing the shoulder. Emma glanced toward the other woman with worried look and nodded.

As it seemed that the women were busy, the creature flew up in the air and initiated attack from above, reaching out with its deadly paws. It focused on Emma, but it dodged the bolts and fireballs Regina kept firing at it. In a mighty crash that reverberated over the small clearing the beast collided with the barrier that Emma had erected at the last second. Quickly lounging to finish the dazed monster, Emma moved in, slashing and hacking with her sword, agilely avoiding the rabid stinger that was the tail of the creature. Finally, she managed to cut its head off, ducking the mighty wings and the tail. As the creature collapsed on the ground, Emma turned with a grin to Regina, ready to celebrate. However, the roused grumbling from the forest told her to another danger travelling to them. The Ogres had been alerted by the sounds of the fight and now they were on them, leaving the forest and joining them on the clearing.

Regina stringed a bolt in her crossbow and sent it flying into the first greenish giant that emerged from the cover of the trees. The bolt was true, finding its target in the eye of the huge monster, killing it on the spot. She loaded quickly another one, downing the next one the same way. But, she wasn't quick enough to manage to kill the next two that came out of the forest, one coming from one side of the camp, and the other from the opposite, making the women split. Before Regina could defend herself, the monstrous arm came flailing at her, and hitting her hard it pushed her back several yards. Regina rolled on the ground helplessly with the force of the impact, feeling the hurt everywhere on her body. But, she had to react quickly as her assailant was going toward her, his steps echoing over the ground.

When Emma saw Regina fly through the air, she angrily threw her sword at her opponent, guiding it with her magic into the head of the Ogre. Not even stopping to see if she had indeed killed it, she rushed toward Regina, her fear, adrenalin and worry giving her such burst of power that she teleported without a conscious thought and appeared right in front of the woman, her hand quickly reaching for the dagger in her booth and sending it flying toward the gigantic creature, before she even completely materialized before Regina. Still in motion she knelt beside the downed woman and using the surge of magic, she started healing the cuts and bruises, along with the fractured ribs. With relief she watched the brown eyes she had grown to care for focus on her face, and when Regina smiled at her, she helped the tussled woman sit up.

"My hero," Regina spoke with gratitude, intentionally giving her words the tone of sneer that she knew Emma would disregard. Leaning onto the offered shoulder she sighed, feeling strangely unwell, even though Emma had healed her. Lifting her arm to place it on Emma's neck on the other side, she noticed a slight blistered patch on her skin, right on her forearm. She muttered several curses with such vicious quality that Emma froze, before she took Regina's shoulders and gently moved her away, the gesture allowing her to see the woman's face.

Regina was pale, and her eyes were focused on her arm. When Emma glanced down, she saw the bubbled skin, and moved to heal it, unsure how it escaped her the first time. But, even the second time, it did not go away. "It's no use." Regina spoke with defeat. "The tail must've grazed me when it knocked me down." Regina looked up into Emma's eyes and she let all the emotions seep into her own brown eyes.

Emma felt the skin under her hands warm up, even though Regina still remained pale. The fear, desperation and resignation were evident in the dark chocolate of Regina's look, making her eyes seem almost black. It did not help that Regina was already feeling the effects of the poison. "No," Emma said firmly, reaching for Regina's face. "No, there has to be a cure!" The blonde felt the other woman lose her strength, as she leaned limply against her. Lowering her gently onto the ground, Emma felt her eyes fill with tears. "Damn it, Regina, you are not doing this to me!" she said, trying again to heal her. "Not now, please."

"Don't cry," Regina whispered, reaching up to Emma's face, wiping the freely falling tears. "Maybe it's better this way," she said, doubt filling her voice. "Maybe it was about giving me absolution before I died," Regina added softly, speaking more to herself than Emma.

"Don't talk like that!" The Savior could see that her healing did not improve Regina's condition, but it didn't make it worse, so she kept at it. "I refuse to believe that." She placed her hand against Regina's chest, attempting to at least slow down the symptoms. "Think, and tell me what to do."

"Emma…"

"No." Emma grabbed Regina's hand, pressing it against her heart. "Do you believe the Fate would punish me so?" she yelled at the woman, raging against everything she could think of, as she was watching the woman who was her soul mate perish right before her eyes. "Do you want me to live on in pain of loss of you?" she added, willing to fight dirty, as long as it made Regina find the solution. "Fight this!" Anger turned into desperate plea. "Fight it, for me!" Letting the sobs overwhelm her for a moment she peered down into the pain hazed dark eyes. "Please… Don't leave me…"

"Henry…" Regina whispered but the sharp look she received in answer made her stop in her track.

"You will tell him yourself!" Emma made herself send another gust of magic into Regina, seeing that it eased some of the pain, but not enough. Never enough.

Suddenly, Regina looked up in the sky as the thunder rumbled over them, announcing rain. A lightning surged through the heavens, splitting the clouds and the heavy downpour started, chilling down already shivering woman, and her companion. Something flashed in Regina's memory, something that might help. She lifted her hand and reached for Emma's collar, pulling her close. "Take the body…" she whispered, in the gasping gushes of air. When Emma was about to complain, Regina only squeezed the collar tighter. "Gold…"

In understanding Emma nodded. In that moment the woman on the ground dropped her hand, having no strength to keep it up anymore. "Hold on," Emma yelled over the roar of the rain. The sudden hope that followed Regina's words fueled Emma beyond her imagination. With the power she had never even dreamed of before, she enveloped herself, Regina, and the manticore's body, along with its head in the transporting fog, directing herself to the Safe Haven, where she knew that the others were. Not even thinking about the possible consequences of attempting such arduous move by herself, she tried one more thing. Along the way, she wished for the old man, making him appear right beside their side, his cane dropping onto the stone floor, the sound reverberating of the wooden walls, from wherever he had been.

Without any preamble, she pushed him over to Regina, explaining what had happened quickly and in succinct manner, hoping that he would know what to do. She ignored the shouts and callings of her name, her eyes only seeing the woman that was already unconscious and fading fast.