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.

37. Chapter 31

Chapter 31.

This is the second part of this time's update, so if you haven't, check out the previous chapter. ;)

Beware that the couple got hitched in the last chapter so, you know... And, perhaps I should note, there is a bit of historical misdeeds by the Royals... If there is something else I should definitely issue warnings about, let me know. Unbetaed.

Enjoy.

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Henry's eyes opened as he startled awake, a soft gasp upon his lips. Quickly, he glanced to his left and sighed in relief when he saw that both his father and his brother were still sleeping soundly beside him, the small tyke burrowed under the quilt he shared with his brother, while Neal was covered with a warm woolen blanket, tossed over his clothes, as he lied almost on the edge of bed, on his side, turned toward his charges.

The boy brought his hand to his eyes, his fingers pressing into his lids as if the pressure alone could wipe out the pictures he had seen in his dreams. The ever growing tension, along with fear and uncertainty he was feeling, was leaving traces on him as his nightmares worsened. That was one of many reasons Neal had decided to stay with the boys in the Queen's quarters, but even his presence hadn't managed to deliver the feeling of safety and security his mothers were able to provide him since Neverland. Hence, his waking up too soon.

With a practiced quietness, he dressed and snuck out of the quarters, pleased to see that his experience of leaving the mansion and evading his mother's long grasp during the curse still served him well. However, as soon as he closed the door behind him he was startled to see a large and dressed in black guard standing behind him, the face under the helmet creased in an amused smile as the keen eyes were watching him.

"Your Highness," the guard greeted him quietly, his right hand rising to his chest in salutation, chuckling gently at the sheepish expression the boy showed him.

"Ah, morning?" Henry spoke with uncertainty, as he still held the knob to the door, not quite sure if he was allowed to leave.

"How may I serve, your Highness?" the man said after a long moment, deciding to spare the boy further embarrassment.

"That… That's okay," Henry mumbled, before he turned toward the gardens, waving his hand in their direction. "I know the way."

"Of course, your Highness," the guard inclined his head, letting the boy leave, his gentle smile widening as he heard the young prince's surprised gasp when one of the Wolves jumped in front of him. The Queen's edict had been quite clear and no one was going to break it, not if Damian and the chief of the Wolves had anything to say about it, so the boys always had an escort, even when they were accompanied by other members of the family.

"Young master Henry," the female shifter addressed the boy as soon he left the presence of the Queen's guard, ignoring his startled jump at her appearance out of the dark. The boy recognized her as one of the people in charge of the pack, so he relaxed slightly, nodding at her. She did not speak further; rather she let the boy take them to the garden. However, before she could even comment on the biting and unforgiving cold of the morning, the boy ran into the safety of the magically protected apple tree, settling himself on the ground, leaning against the trunk and patting the soil beside him, his invitation to the Wolf clear.

The shifter climbed over the low wall, noting the drastic change of temperature with an intrigued glance at the tree, and sat beside the young prince, keeping her attention on their surroundings as she glanced over to the boy.

"What's your name?" he murmured as he brought his knees to his chest, his arms winding around them before he leaned his head against his forearms with his face turned toward his companion.

"Roma," the shifter replied.

"Have you met either of my mothers?" Henry asked softly as his green eyes focused onto the shifter.

The Wolf smiled at the boy as her eyes passed over the gardens. "Both of them, actually." When the prince only lifted his eyebrow in response, she realized that he wanted a story, something to ease the separation from his mothers. "I met the Queen two years after the King's death. She was traveling to the Summer Palace in her carriage with a small band of Black Knights accompanying her. For some reason or other, she was on the road at night, and it just so happened that it was a full moon."

"She caught you running?"

"Not quite," Roma smiled at the boy. "I was still young, and my Wolf had not yet merged with me, so I was still wild and unpredictable. I don't quite remember what happened that night, but I must have stalked the horses for some reason, spooking them into a terrified gallop, and the coachman lost control over them, forcing the Queen to intervene with her magic. As soon as she stopped the horses, she searched the woods and found me. She knew in an instant that I wasn't a simple wolf and she coerced me into changing back, and let me tell you she wasn't at all gentle."

"Well, you did attack the Evil Queen," Henry remarked softly, his bland reaction surprising the shifter.

"She wasn't yet known as such, it was later when the princess spread the moniker." As her eyes glided over the gardens, the wolf turned slightly to the boy, feeling him tense up for some reason. But, when she glanced back at him, she saw only interest in his eyes. "After she saw me in my human form, she ordered one of the knights to toss me a blanket and a bag of coins. Go to the forest, she told me. You are not safe among these people, she spoke before she turned around, the cloak hanging off her shoulders snapping behind her. She went into her chariot and ordered her people to continue on. Just as one of the knights was about to close the door behind her, she peered out and found me in the shrubbery, her dark eyes reflecting the light of the torches her guardsmen carried. The forest, she repeated and disappeared into the carriage, and her convoy rode off."

"The forest?" Henry questioned.

"The Infinite Forest," the shifter supplied softly. "For decades, folks who found themselves persecuted for a magical reason would seek shelter in the Infinite Forest, hoping that the fear would keep the ordinary people away."

"I thought people liked magic here," the boy murmured, the frown creasing his forehead. "I mean, the place is called the Enchanted Forest, it is supposed to have magic and magical beings."

"Most people are afraid of magic," Roma spoke quietly, drawing herself closer to the boy, meeting his eyes. "They can accept fairies and unicorns among them, because they represent the 'good' magic," she said, her scorn at the descriptive quite discerning even for the boy, "but even with the fairies and unicorns, people seek to benefit from them, hunting the proud steeds and demanding wishes and blessings from the fairies, or stealing the dust from the mines, not caring for the dwarves that dwell in them." In consideration for her charge's young age, she didn't share much of the gory history humans have created in regards to magical beings. "They fear magic and consider it unnatural, because most humans are born ordinary, without the affinity for it, but what they continuously fail to understand is that every living creature has magic, but only few have the ability to express it in ways of sorcery. Or are born as magical beings, such as werewolves or mermaids, or born of magic like the dwarves." She sighed at the boy's displeased look, his pursed lips and scrunched eyebrows showing clearly what he thought about it. "There is, however, another reason why they fear people with magic. Why they hate them."

Henry knew what his guard was implying and he nodded heavily, directing his eyes forward. "Because of people like my mom used to be. And Cora."

After his words, laden with understanding and misery, Roma had nothing else to add, and a heavy silence enveloped them in the protection of the apple tree. Henry noticed that the castle didn't seem as quiet as it was the moment he had left his mother's quarters, but it was still away from the hubbub of daily life at the palace. Soon, someone of his family would look for him, quite possibly with a quick chastisement on their lips for disappearing out of his room without telling anyone, but he didn't care much for it, loath to leave the apple tree and the symbolic representation of his mothers' love it embodied.

"Do you think," a soft murmur ended the silence, and forced the shifter to focus wholly on the boy beside her as she waited for him to complete the question. "Do you think Emma is okay?"

The wolf hesitated as she looked over the boy's face, as his green eyes roamed over hers. "The Savior has a lot of heavy burdens to bear," she started, carefully choosing her words. "And, such burdens leave deep wounds, master Henry," she added softly, not willing to say anything more on the particular topic. "But, do I believe your mother is alive?" she continued on in a slightly different way. "Yes, I do," she stated firmly, making a point to keep her gaze connected to Henry's. "She has proven many times that we keep underestimating her, even those who are familiar with magic in ways that few people are." The shifter was pleased to see the boy's eyes fill with light as his face relaxed. But before he could comment on her words, the wolf rose to her feet and gestured toward the entrance to the garden, having noticed the figure approaching them.

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Ruby knew that the young prince would be quite safe on his own in the castle, the directives Regina had left with Liam and Damian making sure that the children were watched over constantly, so she had only rolled her eyes when she had met the frantic father searching for his prepubescent boy, with his nephew half dressed in his arms. She had assured Neal that the guards and wolves were more than capable of keeping an eye on Henry, and that nothing would touch him inside Regina's palace. As soon as her calm demeanor managed to influence the man to relax and finish dressing young Kyle, she had gone to find the errant boy herself.

She rolled her eyes once more, realizing that the boy's minder had not asked the guard standing in front of the queen's quarters about Henry's whereabouts, just rushing out in panic calling out for the boy. Shaking her head at the man's foolishness, she followed the guard's direction to the gardens, her eyes finding her young friend instantly, accompanied by one of Liam's lieutenants. The minute she stepped out into the garden, the other shifter rose to her feet notifying the boy of her presence, and Ruby was pleased to see a smile spread on Henry's face the second he saw her.

"Good morning, Henry," she greeted the boy, lightly patting his shoulder before she inclined her head to the other shifter in gratitude. "Roma."

The lieutenant smiled and returned the nod, before she turned to the boy. "Thank you for your company, young master Henry," she said formally, smirking as the boy blushed before she walked away, ready for some rest.

"Are you ready for breakfast?" Ruby asked as she pulled the boy into a side hug as they watched the other shifter duck inside the castle.

"I'm not hungry," he murmured as he glanced back at the magically protected apple tree. His mind turning, he pressed his shoulder into Ruby's side and looked up into the dark blue eyes of his friend, his maneuver stopping the young shifter from speaking. "Ruby, where are my mom's things?" he asked softly. "I know mom took her sword and the cloak, but where is the rest?"

Taking a moment to sort through the question the boy had asked her, Ruby smiled internally at Henry's categorization of the both women that held the title of mother in his life. In the past, one of the women would be addressed by their name, while the other one would be 'Mom', Regina more often than not ending up being Mom, as the woman sometimes seemed to be the very personification of slightly wound-up but loving mother, while Emma usually gave off more of the laid back vibe. Not to say that she hadn't seen Emma lay down the law. Focusing on the green eyes so alike Emma's in front of her, she briefly mourned for the lightness of color that Henry's eyes still possessed but his mother's had lost that morning, months before, when the ship had jumped between the worlds. "I don't know," Ruby spoke out at last, gripping the shoulder under her hand in consolation. "But, we can find out," she offered, wanting to know what happened to Emma's things as well.

Nodding at the young woman's suggestion, Henry walked with Ruby down the halls of his mother's castle, slightly unnerved to see every guard dressed in black bow to him in respect. "Why are they doing that?" he asked softly after they had passed another member of the Queen's Guard. "They weren't doing that in the village." As he was looking at the woman beside her, he didn't see the Captain of the Guard drawing near them, warned about his approach by a pointed glance from Ruby just in time for him not to be startled by Damian's arrival.

"It is protocol," Ruby replied gently, nodding at the newcomer and holding the boy close as she continued to lead them to her own quarters, believing that Mulan would know something about their quest, motioning to the captain to join them on the way.

"You are the Crown Prince," Damian spoke quietly after he had bent in waist a little, with his hand resting over his heart. Then, as he turned to walk beside them down the hall, he placed his hands on the small of his back, continuing his explanation to the boy. "Traditionally, you would be the Heir Apparent. So, despite what your grandparents and your father believe, you as the heir and next in line for the throne hold sway over your mother's dominion, and subsequently the guards and all people within her purview."

"Yes, but it still doesn't explain why they are doing it now?"

"Prince Henry, in all other instances, you were in the company of your mother, the Queen and because of that, there was no need for the additional show of respect for your position. However, Queen Regina is now absent, and in her stead, the right of rule falls to you, the Heir. As long as your mother is away, and as she hasn't appointed a regent, you, by the protocol, are afforded the consideration and protection equal to that of the King." Damian finished his explanation just in time for them to reach the rooms Ruby had led them to.

Now that the captain had mentioned it, Henry realized that his mother had previously received the same treatment from the guards, both in the village and in the palace they had been in before. And, with that realization, he smiled impishly, because honestly, it's not every day that one heard he had the power of a king. "So, if I order you something, you'd have to obey?" he asked eagerly, ignoring the softly muttered 'Henry' thrown his way from the shifter.

"Your Highness," Damian said slowly as he winked at the woman beside him. "As far I am concerned, Queen Regina's words and wishes carry more weight than your orders. And, as I am under obligation to protect you from everything and anything that might be deemed dangerous, I can simply choose that preventative confinement in the Royal chambers would be most beneficial for your health, your Highness, especially if you seem to be a danger to yourself." The captain stated seriously, almost chuckling at the frown that had overtaken the boy's face, before he inclined his head. "However, I will be willing to listen to your demands before I make my decision."

"Uh," the boy grumbled as he understood the trap the man had laid in front of him. If he was to insist and ask something of Damian that can be in any way be construed as unreasonable, he would be brought back to his mother's quarters and detained there, spending the time in boredom until his mothers arrive back at the castle. Or, he could ignore the newfound power he possessed and be free to walk about the castle, under the vigilant eyes of his watchers, but free nonetheless. The man had even thrown in a subtle warning about his mother's request to behave and help Liam and Damian protect him and his brother. No wonder his mother liked him and promoted him to the rank of captain! "Never mind."

"Your Highness," the captain replied with a slight bow and a gentle smile. "May I have a word with you?" he then asked the shifter.

"Sure," Ruby said as she opened the door to her quarters, letting the boy inside. "Give me a minute, would you?" she asked Henry and after she received his slightly disgruntled nod, she closed the door behind him. "What is it?" she spoke quietly, moving away from the door, just in case the boy would get any ideas about listening in.

"One of the wolf scouts reports a small group of people approaching the castle on foot. By the man's estimation, it would take them two more hours to reach the gate, as they are coming in from the north." He then came closer, his voice dropping even lower. "He recognized one of the men as the forest thief."

"Robin?" Ruby frowned in surprise, noting the distaste in the captain's tone but not reacting to it. At first she had believed that the group of people was made up of people not used to walking through dense forest and that was why it would take them two hours to reach the castle, but hearing that Robin Hood was one of them, she could only surmise that the rest of them were members of the Merry Men, people who knew how to move throughout the foliage without much trouble. And, coming in from the north where the forest surrounding the castle was the thickest, and the terrain was hard to cross because of the mountain slopes, when both Charmings' Palace and Sherwood Forest were down south, didn't make any sense. There was also the fact that they weren't supposed to come. "Something is not right," she murmured, her eyebrows furrowing in worry as she glanced toward the door.

"The Savior didn't have much faith in him either way," Damian offered softly, his pointed mistrust quite obvious to Red. "But, I am afraid that the tales of his adventures might influence others into trusting him more easily."

No kidding, the werewolf thought bitterly to herself, as she instantly remembered Snow's pointed sighs and comments about their wanted posters being side by side throughout the realms. "Two hours?" Ruby asked again, and getting a confirmation in the form of a sharp nod, she gritted her teeth and considered her options. "Pull most of the wolves out of sight, and tell Cheng to hide at least half of his men." She turned around and placed her hand on Damian's upper arm. "Snow will want to let them in, and we cannot avoid it without arousing suspicion. Also, we cannot hide Regina's absence for long. But we can obfuscate and not volunteer any information to the man that had insulted the Savior by his poorly thought-out words, and if they believe she is with a large retinue, it is all for the better. I'll deal with the kids."

"Should I warn the brother?" Damian asked after he nodded, accepting Ruby's measures of preparation.

"He is more than capable of understanding that not everything is as it seems. He grew up with Rumplestiltskin after all."

"I'll get Nathan and a few others to pull the men, while I speak with Master Neal and organize for the newcomers."

Red stopped the guard gently pulling on his arm still in her hold. "It should go without saying that they should be under constant guard," the shifter whispered sharply.

Damian smirked coldly at the words. "Of course." He knew just what men to put on the duty of watching the forest bandits. Beside the fact that the man was an insufferable fool, the Captain had another reason not to care for the 'hero'. The Merry Men had hit tax collectors, sometimes even killing some of them, all in the name of protecting the people from the bad and corrupted royals, and returning a big part of the loot to the people who had been taxed, their deeds earning them a favor of the people, but what most had failed to understand had been the fact that Robin's exploits would only spark a retaliation upon the villages that had regained their taxes, the Dukes in charge of the lands, and even Kings, sending their soldiers to forcibly tax the places again, and vindictive as most royals were, such actions would often be ten times worse for the villages than the deficits they would have suffered from the first taxation. And, even after sometimes brutal retributions, the bandits were still lauded as the good and brave folk, helping the poor by stealing from the rich.

One of Damian's men had lost his family in such retribution, as the royal of the neighboring kingdom had ordered utter decimation of the man's village, as soon as he had heard that the villagers had welcomed the murderous thieves with songs and free flowing ale, after the Merry Men had attacked the collection convoy, leaving the royal's men thoroughly beaten and dying in the freezing rain. So, while the bandits had cleared out before dawn, knowing that the soldiers would no doubt come looking for them, the entire village paid the price for their actions.

And, that had been before he had witnessed the fool mouth off the most powerful being in the Enchanted Forest, the woman who had tried her best to protect everyone and save as many as she could, placing herself first in the line of fire.

So, no, he didn't need the wolf to caution him about keeping an eye on the coward. Others, he could simply ignore, as men were always foolish, especially when seduced with the stories of being celebrated and beloved by the people and considered a bad element by the ruling class. His anger and disdain was reserved solely for the Hood, as the man was the leader of his merry band.

The Captain waited for the shifter to release him before he went on with his business, already having an idea where his loyal second would be, and where the Queen's brother was.

Ruby watched the man stalk down the hallway, his gait quick and long as he hurried to comply with her wishes, before she opened the door to her rooms and slipped inside, finding Henry and her lover bent over a platter of food as they talked in slow and hushed tones.

"Can you take me there?" She heard Henry ask Mulan as he picked out a piece of dried meat and glared at it, trying to guess if it was from an animal he knew. Ruby had to smile at the scowl that adorned his face as he dropped the meat in his hand, reaching for a small loaf of bread instead.

"I can, after breakfast," the warrior replied softly as she leaned back, obviously done with eating.

"Take you where?" the shifter asked the boy as she sat down, but her eyes were focused on her lover and she noticed a slight tension in the strong shoulders, which made her realize that Damian must have been to see Mulan first.

"To the royal armory," Henry replied, missing the look shared above his head. Breaking off a piece of bread and stuffing it in his mouth, he mumbled "S where mom's hins are."

"Chew, swallow, then talk," Ruby chastised the boy gently, before she glanced at the warrior. "I've never heard of it."

"One of the blacks showed it to me last night," Mulan responded as she poured tea for the three of them, adding a generous splash of milk to the child's cup. "It is on the other end of the panoramic hallway from the Queen's quarters. It is supposed to hold the weapons and armors of the ruling monarch, so they could get kitted out quickly and privately if needed." After a sip, she mused. "It was beyond dusty when I saw it. Apparently, Regina wasn't much for the weapons and armors beyond her magic. The only time she had been in there was after the King's death, when she had ordered every piece in there to be either smelted or sold, as the guard told me." When Ruby nodded in grim understanding, the warrior turned to look at the boy. "I managed to clean Emma's chainmail from the blood and mud, but the clothes are beyond repair."

"I just want to see them," he said quietly, having finished with bread and holding his cup in his hands and close to his chin. His eyes looked down in front of him, searching for something to fix his gaze on, finding nothing but the smooth surface of the table. Henry didn't know how to explain his desire, his need, but he knew that being in the room that had some of his mother's things would provide some semblance of comfort. He had heard many speak of the Savior, of the Sheriff, but in his mind that was a stranger, a person out of imagination of the people of this world, for in all the stories that he had heard, he couldn't see his mom. He couldn't feel her, though his young mind rebelled against such a poor attempt to explain his loss, even to himself. Henry did recognize Emma's bravery and sacrifice in the stories, but somehow the adventures told and retold by the veritable heroes around him felt shallow, empty and just – stories.

In a way, he envied his mother for being able to read the diaries Emma had sent over, because they were written by the woman's hand, personal and real, tangible. The brunette woman did share most of the Sheriff's words with her son, sometimes even reading aloud the segments of the journals, but it just didn't feel the same. It lacked the connection that the two of them had since the first moment he had seen his blonde mother – when he had knocked on her apartment's door in Boston.

He hoped that with seeing Emma's things, a bit of that connection would be restored, and his mother would not seem so far away and unavailable to him.

"Henry?" Ruby's soft whisper startled his rumination and his eyes flickered toward the woman by his side. "We can go now, if you're ready?" she asked gently, wary of his sudden downtrodden mood. The shifter decided not to prod the boy for his thoughts, thinking she could surmise them on her own just well enough, but she did offer her soothing touch as she lowered her hand onto the boy's shoulder, gripping it tenderly.

Henry nodded, leaving the cup on the table and rising to his feet, suddenly finding himself engulfed in the Wolf's side hug, as Mulan led the way towards the Royal Armory. With a somber pace, the three of them walked over to the large, double-leafed hard wood door right down the hallway from the Royal Chambers. Mulan nodded to the guard, who after a slight bow and murmured greeting pushed one side inward, letting them in.

It was a large but mostly empty room, Henry saw. There were two empty racks pushed against the opposite walls, their purpose explained by Mulan's soft whisper, "It's for swords and pole weapons," and a low but long table on the farthest side of the room. But, what drew the boy's attention was the middle of the Armory. There, at the center was a t-shaped pole about six feet tall, affixed to the floor, and hanging off it was the familiar weave of black metal. It was the hauberk his mother had worn, the very chainmail that had saved his life from a bullet. It was there, cold and slightly greasy to touch, placed as a centerpiece of the stark Armory, and Henry shuddered, jerking his hand back. Seeing it there, devoid of the warmth of his mother's skin, served as a reminder that Emma was not there, and wherever she was, she wasn't protected by it.

Unable to look at it anymore, he walked over to the table, but it turned out to be a mistake, as he realized that the clumps of black were actually Emma's blood soaked clothes, the rancid scent of dried blood and dirt reaching his nostrils. When he had seen them in the Palace, he had only noticed the stains, not the smell, and both his mother and Ruby had been quick to stop him from rummaging through them to actually see how much blood they had soaked in. But, now, he couldn't escape that knowledge and it terrified him. So much blood, his mind repeated and he felt weak, fearing for his mother's life.

"Easy," Ruby said as she grabbed him from behind, pulling him back. "Breathe through your mouth," she added firmly as she saw him gulp, his steps unsteady, and his skin gaining unhealthy pallor.

"She's alive," he murmured, shaking his head, while his hands clenched around the strong forearms holding him upright. "She's alive," he repeated, trying to keep his breathing steady, but without success, and soon he started gasping.

"Yeah, kiddo, she is," the shifter agreed firmly, turning him around and bending him slightly to ease his breathing. "And, she'll come back soon," she added, wincing when she heard the young prince sob out. Pulling him into a carrying hug, despite the fact that he was obviously too big to be carted around this way, Ruby pressed his head into her shoulder, shushing the crying boy and wrapped her arms around him. "I'll take him to the quarters," the shifter murmured softly as she looked over Henry's unruly hair toward her lover. "Meet you later," she spoke, while her intense eyes flashed orange with her dual natured magic, the look itself providing enough for Mulan to understand Ruby's unspoken instructions. The warrior gently rubbed Henry's trembling back before lightly grasping Ruby's wrist, careful not to pull it away from keeping the boy up, as she leaned over and kissed the shifter on the cheek. Sharing another deep look with the Wolf, the soldier nodded and moved to the door, opening it for the other two and letting them pass before she rushed away down the corridor, without a word.

With her precious burden, the Wolf hurriedly walked to the Royal chambers, shaking off the concerned glance the guard at the door gave them. "The boy just misses his mothers," she offered quietly as she passed by the black clad knight, thanking him for opening the door for her. "The lunch will probably be in here for the princes and Neal," she added softly before the guard closed the door behind her, nodding his head in understanding.

"What happened?" Neal immediately jumped to them and took the boy out of her arms, peering into his tear-covered face. "Hen, what is it?" he asked the shaken boy and when Henry only murmured Emma's name in sadness, the man sighed and embraced the prince in a firm and almost suffocating hug. "What happened?" he asked again, only this time he spoke in a quieter tone, looking at the shifter.

"He wanted to see Emma's clothes," Ruby replied softly. "I think he wanted a connection, now that they are both away." She watched the man's face turn pale as he understood what Henry had seen.

"Oh, Red," he sighed in dismay as he walked over to the thick and soft rug near the fireplace, where he had set Kyle to play with some colored blocks Snow had dug out from somewhere. Lowering the boy down, he got to his knee and clasped Henry's face, his thumbs holding him as he looked into the swimming green eyes. "There's a reason Regina had them moved out of here," he said pointedly but keeping his tone gentle, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out an ironed handkerchief, giving it to Henry to wipe his teary and snotty face. "Your mother will kill me if you have nightmares about this," he added as he pushed the boy's hair back, still looking into his eyes. "I know you miss Emma, but the clothes…" he shook his head, having no heart to scold the already browbeaten prince. "And, another thing. I know you are safe and under the watchful eyes of the guard and wolves the whole time you are here, but you cannot just disappear and not tell me, or someone in the family, where you had gone. This isn't Storybrooke, Henry."

"I know, Dad," the boy replied quietly, escaping Neal's searching look and dipping his head in chagrin. He then sat down beside the blond toddler and tickled him in greeting, a small burst of delight at Kyle's mangling of his name enough to chase away his maudlin mood. "I'm sorry," he said as he glanced at his dad and the shifter, earnestness radiating out of his face before he turned toward his brother to help him build whatever the toddler had in mind.

"I am sorry, too," Ruby started as the man gestured towards a couple of chairs a bit away. The move was to provide them with a little bit of privacy but still to be in the room with the children, to keep a watchful eye over them. She sat down and reached for the pitcher placed on the table beside her, pouring herself a cup of fresh water. "I didn't think he might be too young to deal with it properly."

"Emma was the same," Neal said as he leaned back. "Too old for her years. She could make you forget that she was just a kid who grew up too fast…" He looked over at his son playing with Kyle and smiled. "But, she didn't have that," he added, inclining his head toward the kids, where the older boy was making the younger one giggle in glee as they demolished the tower together, his mannerisms that of a happy and secure child. "That kind of innocence doesn't last very long when you grow up the way she and I did." He then turned to the shifter. "What's the deal with the…" he lowered his voice as he considered how to name the visitors that were upon them. "Company?" he settled on the word. "I thought they were the good ones."

"Damian found you, then?" the shifter asked, getting a sharp nod in return. "There is some mistrust and dislike from Emma's side, and she considers him a vainglorious fool. The black guards have their own reasons for the hate, one of which is insulting Emma for trying to save as many lives as she could." She sighed heavily, rolling the half empty cup in her hands. "Mulan wanted to kill him on the spot, and only because Emma reacted before her, she didn't." The deep blue eyes found the dark ones and Neal could see the anger and disdain in them quite easily. "There is also the fact that they are not supposed to be here, especially not coming from the North, which without the wolves on the perimeter is the weakest point in the surveillance. They were gunning for the factor of surprise."

"Why let them in at all?" Neal asked the next logical question.

Ruby rolled her eyes, agreeing to his point, before she shook her head. "But, the problem is Snow," she said after a minute, keeping her voice quite low. "She had been fangirling about him since the day they placed his most wanted poster beside hers, and she is convinced that he is a hero." With a sigh, she drank the rest of the water and placed the cup on the table. "She'll get him inside, and David will follow her lead, and any words of warning from the wolves and the guard will fall on deaf ears."

"Hence, the preparations," the queen's brother concluded with a sigh. "You'd think they would learn…" he added in a tired murmur.

"Emma did call her oblivious," Ruby added ruefully, making him chuckle. "Have lunch here, and see how it goes later. With luck, Regina will return or they will be gone soon enough." She rose to her feet, patted the man's shoulder and calling out her byes to Henry, she left the boys alone.

---

Following the instructions that she had managed to obtain from one of the very busy black guardsmen, the Hero of the Empire arrived at the small meeting room in the lower reaches of the castle, previously used by the castle's permanent garrison, but as the soldiers who had been in it were not around, the Imperial soldiers made themselves at home for the time being. There, in the furthest corner, she found the man she had been looking for. The High Commander of the Imperial Guard, field commander of the Imperial army under Emma's sway, and fates be willing, the future Emperor of her country, Li Cheng, was standing beside a tall desk where a vellum sketch of the castle and its surrounding lands was laying, deep in conversation with two Black guard knights, as they coordinated the watch schedules and other important minutia.

"If it isn't Hua Mulan," the man spoke teasingly, bending in waist in a barely there bow, having seen her wait patiently for him to dismiss the soldiers. At his loud proclamation, the remaining soldiers in the room stopped what they were doing and straightened up, saluting, the uniform sound of the fists hitting the Imperial armors ringing out in the suddenly quiet room. Returning the salute in a slightly hesitant manner, the woman ducked her head, uncomfortable with the attention others were giving her. And, when she saw Cheng smile impishly at her, she shook her head. "You never did like the pomp and respect your name garners among our people," Li spoke when she reached him, grabbing her upper arm in a comforting gesture, before he guided her to a seating area. "Come, it's time for tea, anyways."

As they sat down, one of the lower ranks brought them an already prepared pot along with cups, setting it down at the small table between them. Dismissing the man with a gently murmured word, the commander poured the tea and reached over and placed a full cup by Mulan's hands before he served himself. Then, as he sipped the still hot brew, he looked at his friend and once upon a time comrade in arms, and sighed, jumping right to the point. "I've stationed most of our forces in the barracks by the shore side of the grounds. It is far enough to easily conceal their presence, and they are still close by to help protect the castle in case of an attack."

"And, the guests won't be allowed to roam and to leave the castle proper during their stay," Mulan spoke over her cup, nodding her head in approval of his actions. "How many did you leave behind?"

"A small platoon of men," the officer replied quietly. "Forty men in total, and they are all from the Imperial Guard," he said, his meaning clear - his best and most trusted people were the ones that remained. He then leaned forward and brought his hand across the table, lightly touching Mulan's closest forearm. "The men are under instructions to obey you as if your orders were my own. The same goes for the rest of the legion." When the famed warrior opened her mouth to decline the vast honor her former commander had bestowed on her, he directed a piercing look at her, catching her eyes and silencing her immediately. "We both know that sometimes things get chaotic," he spoke in a hurried whisper. "Providing another link in the chain of command, and much respected one at that, is just good planning." He released her arm and leaned back, sipping his tea casually, as if he hadn't just given the woman a power of military command equal to that of a general or major at the least. "Anyways, until we march on the Imperial Palace, we are under Savior's sovereignty, so worry not about your split loyalties, my friend," he added with a sly smirk as he looked at her over his steamy cup.

Mulan just clenched her jaw before she forcefully made her muscles relax, and then proceeded to drink her tea slowly, avoiding the man's too knowing gaze, making him chuckle in response.

"Be at ease, my friend. I will not tease you about your love." He then frowned, remembering something. "But, I thought the prince at the Charming Palace was the one who drew you away from us."

The Hero sighed and then shook her head. "You remember how it was, after the war. The only woman in the Imperial Army, and the first woman ever to be honored by the Emperor and to be on the advising council… And, my father…" She looked away, her gaze cast to the past. "I was forgiven for impersonating his son and taking his armor, but the minute I came home, mother and grandmother started talking about marriages and good matches…"

"It became too much," Li spoke softly, as he had been there for most of it. He had been one of the first men Grandmother Hua had tried to broker for Mulan to settle down, making their friendship quite awkward and fraught with tension for a while.

"You made me a warrior, Cheng," Mulan spoke earnestly as she leaned toward her friend.

"A damn good one, at that," he agreed.

The woman gave him a heartfelt smile before she continued. Her voice showed the emotions the warrior had so rarely shown, but her face remained unchanged, even though her eyes seemed much older than the hero herself was. "I've seen things, I've done things that changed me. I couldn't go back to that simple young girl to be married off for the honor of my family." She cleared her throat and reached for the now cooled tea, drinking the rest of it in a single, long swallow. "Phillip offered me a mission, a cause I could fight for and to take a time away from home, from all the pressures waiting for me there. I just…" She hesitated.

"You never went back," the commander finished it for her. With a sigh, he took Mulan's hand and squeezed it in his own. "A season after you were gone, I went by your home to check up on them and to see if they had any news of you," he spoke slowly as he drew closer to her. "Your father invited me for tea, sending the women away."

"Bet Grandmother loved that," Mulan interrupted, chuckling lightly.

"That man, Hua Zhou… I've never met a man as proud of his daughter as he was." Li spoke on. "He told me that he knew your happiness would never be within the confines of their expectations, and he wished you all the luck, love and good will the ancestors could bestow on you. And, the only regret, he said, was that his Magnolia flower had to be so far away from him to be at peace." The almond shaped eyes of the exalted hero filled with tears as she heard the name her father had given her, and the commander rose from his seat and not letting go of her hand, he walked around the table and crouched in front of her, taking the other palm into his and holding them tightly. "Your father loves you, and he understands the reasons that keep you away." Then, he rose to his feet and, pulling on the hands in his hold, he helped Mulan to her own before he brought her into a strong and engulfing hug. "He will understand the ways of your heart, too," he whispered gently into the woman's ear, before he patted her back and stepped away, his hands going to Mulan's upper arms. "Now, I believe, you are needed elsewhere," he said, the implied dismissal gentle and understanding.

The shaken warrior offered her friend a tremulous smile before she nodded and turned away, leaving the meeting room, using the moments she was alone in the corridors to compose herself and to wipe away the few errant tears that managed to slip away from her eyes. Then, with a deep, calming sigh, she took to the North wall, having a feeling that the next person on her list was there.

---

Accompanied by his faithful second, the chief of the shifters leaned against the stone parapet as his eyes searched the dense forest before him. The blonde shifter, Callie, quietly grumbled something and Liam turned around and raised his hand, motioning to Red's companion to join them. "They are close by," he said by way of greeting the moment the warrior came to his side, pointing in a direction from where Robin and the others were to come from.

"How many?" Mulan asked softly, placing her hip against the stone, not even bothering to peer into the thick growth spreading through the landscape to the North, well aware that her human eyes would not be able to see anything of consequence. Her eyes, instead, were on the two shifters, as they shared a look between them, a silent conversation going on before the chief turned to face her again.

"Five," he spoke with certainty. He then sighed and lowered his head, as his palms flattened on the stone surface of the wall. "They are on foot, and they should be beneath the castle walls in half an hour by the rate they are going."

"What is it?" Mulan asked simply, her eyes narrowing as she looked over his hesitant behavior.

"They don't smell of magic," he said, looking into her eyes, a deep set frown on his face, "but, …" He glanced toward Callie and seeing her encouraging nod, he added, "something is off."

"Something about this whole thing is off, Liam," Mulan said in a gruff voice, her hand clenching the hilt of the sword the Savior had gifted to her. "That's why we are preparing for possible acts of betrayal." She then turned a bit and leaned her back against the stone, looking down into the courtyard, seeing many soldiers and Wolves trying to erase the signs of the presence of a veritable army within the castle walls. "Have you designated people to watch over them?"

Liam nodded sharply before he leaned over to his lieutenant and murmured into her ear before he sent her away. "Every one of them will have a Wolf and a Black Knight to watch their every move. And, in case someone splits from the group to go exploring," the chief of the shifters bared his teeth at the last word, "they will be immediately detained in Queen Regina's most secure dungeon."

Mulan hummed in acceptance, knowing from her conversation with Damian that those cells were both magically and physically sealed, and that no one had ever been able to escape from them. The strength of the response to a possible misconduct was probably on the paranoid side, but as Damian had said, Queen Regina had given them the authority to do whatever they needed and wanted to protect the children, and the warrior too was of the mindset to better be safe than sorry.

---

The soft and rhythmic exhalation coming over her shoulder told Snow that David was still slumbering, finally driven to an exhausted sleep after hours upon hours of grief laden and gut wrenching examination of their thoughts and ideas about the Savior. The steady man had broken down in shuddering sobs the minute the two of them had entered the small room the Black Knights had provided for them the evening before, distraught and dismayed by the terse confrontation the others provided them. It was hard, the pixie haired woman concluded, as she laid in her husband's arms under the covers, unwilling to move from the warmth and safety of the bed, to fully let go of the ideas they both had harbored about their first, and until recently, the only child.

Blinded by the relief of finding David and finally getting her family together, Snow had ignored Emma's reluctance and straight up resistance to even thinking of them as her parents. Right after the curse had broken, Snow had enveloped her long lost daughter into a hard and lasting hug, disregarding the stiffened spine and clenched muscles of the woman in her arms, even though she had known that Emma wasn't for much physical contact, especially forced upon her. And, as expected, the heroic blonde had used the first available opportunity to step away, clumsily patting her shoulder, inspiring sharp feelings of rejection and hurt in the pixie haired brunette that she had simply pushed down. Nothing would damage this idea she had about the reunion with her daughter, and she would be patient and wait for Emma - she had silently encouraged herself then, but somewhere along the way, she had forgotten about all the curious things she had picked up as Mary Margaret about her roommate, things that had been immensely important for understanding the Savior, and instead, she pushed and pushed, roping David into her schemes to get their daughter to finally accept the two of them as her parents. She had pushed for her idea of togetherness and ignored or, worse, attacked everything that might have endangered it, and in the process, she had no doubt that she had made Emma resent her and the man sleeping behind her.

Regina had warned her, many times, but she hadn't listened. Not really, not with her heart. Only when she had been faced with strong disapproval from her best friend and the hero of Empire, joined by the scorn of the people she had met at her former but newly restored home, she had realized that unless she learned to let go completely of whatever idea she had for her perfect family, she was going to lose Emma.

Long before, while she had still been cursed, the blonde Sheriff had told her some details about her life, details that, though scarce, provided just enough hints to form a horrific picture of a lonely, abandoned child, that had learned, through all the misfortunes happening in her life, that she wasn't worthy of being loved, or kept. A picture of a wounded and scarred, but proud warrior who followed her own rules because there had been no one else to teach her. A person who had seen enough evils of the world Snow had abandoned her to, to be able to discern a soul worthy of love and trust under all the guises of Madam Mayor. Red had asked her, and with a good reason, if it was Emma that Snow loved. Because, during the long and tear filled night, the former White princess had realized she didn't know her own daughter, not the way a mother should. Not even the way a friend would. She didn't understand the heartbreaks Emma had lived through, and offering placating sympathy and a forced offer to listen had obviously been the wrong way to handle her, chafing strongly against Emma's hard earned independence and sense of self-worth.

Ironically, it had been Regina that had offered what Emma needed - someone who understood the pain and misery of bad decisions and stripped control over one's life. Someone who understood the bleakness of being treated as an object and subsequently discarded by the ones who were supposed to care for them. The sharing of memories had come long after. And, under Regina's patient touch, Emma had healed and grown stronger than ever, accepting, perhaps for the first time ever, that she was a part of a family and that she was loved, just as she was, the flawed and scarred human who tried to do her best.

So, Snow had declared strongly in the wee hours of the morning, they would let Emma set the tone for their relationship, offering love and compassion along the way. David had agreed vigorously, feeling deeply ashamed for his snappy temper and the air of injury he had sported since that evening in the Charming Palace.

Suddenly, a large hand slid down her middle, cupping the barely showing bulge on her belly as a quietly whispered good morning trickled into her ear. Leaving her ruminations for later, Snow turned around and greeted her husband with a long and deep kiss, quite okay with being a while longer in bed.

---

Hours later, well dressed for the winter air, Snow stood in front of the familiar tree, gazing upon the luxurious canopy filled with leaves glittering under the weak Sun. Feeling restless, she had gone for the walk in the gardens while her husband had needed something more demanding, and by some stroke of luck, he had found a Black guardsman who hadn't sneered at him when he had asked for someone to spar with but instead had agreed to indulge the Savior's father, taking David to the part of the courtyard, where the practice areas had been placed. And, now, having taken a long stroll over the familiar place, she found herself looking at the incredible gift her daughter had left in place for her True Love.

It was sweet and romantic, and that was something that before the journey to Neverland, she hadn't thought her hardened and embittered Emma would be, even for someone she loved; and it only drove the point that she didn't really know the blonde Sheriff that much harder. Beside that, if she could ignore all the small and big things Emma had done for her family, romantic and loving as it was, there was the awe her daughter inspired in the people of the Enchanted Forest. Her previously extremely reluctant hero of the daughter had turned into someone respected, beloved and obeyed by many, many different people. The notoriously independent and untamed shifters considered the Savior not only as one of their own but the Alpha of Alphas, and the Royals of Safe Haven had accepted her as their ruler and commander, as well as their friend. Then, seeing the proud soldiers of Empire bear the silver swan on their chests and share the stories of the blonde warrior by the warming fires as they stood watch over the gardens, addressing her by the title of 'Her Grace' (something that Regina had done impulsively, no doubt) and lauding the woman's prowess with both sword and magic, as well as her skilled mind and leadership, left Snow with a sense of loss, and if she could be honest - only within the confines of her mind, a bit jealous.

People had rallied behind her and followed her in the war against the Evil Queen, but she had never been able to inspire such awe in the people of her kingdom, and even then, she had been treated as one of the people, not as someone worthy of obedience and worship. They had loved her, had respected her right to the throne and judged her as one of the good guys, but they still had argued with her every time they had needed to do something and she had to convince, cajole and even beg for others to go along.

However, judging by the stories she had heard, from Aurora and Phillip, from the various people she had asked about her daughter, from the soldiers of the Empire, the Black Guard and the Wolves, and even from her own best friend, Emma commanded respect and deference with ease of the most powerful royals and mages. But, listening to the same stories, her daughter had been humble and self-effacing at the same time, creating the very picture of the White Knight, the noble, courageous and modest hero.

Her long and circular rumination on the topic of her daughter was interrupted when David tapped her shoulder, drawing her attention to him. Frowning at his sweaty and rudy face, she glanced at his eyes. "Hey, something's happening," he spoke quietly, pointing toward the restless Wolves as they rushed through the gardens to the courtyard. "The man I was with was called away on duty as scouts noticed someone coming."

"Is it…" Snow started to ask, but before she could even speak a name, the man beside her shrugged and simply motioned for her to lead the way toward the commotion.

---

The Captain of the Black Guard stood on the parapets of the North wall, watching the rag-tag group of foresters slowly circle toward the main gate at the eastern side of the castle. His second in command, Nathan, was already in the main courtyard with a small unit of knights, with his orders already given. Damian, however, was keeping himself away, stationing himself among the archers he had placed on the wall, surveying the situation from up high.

If it were up to him, he would have already ordered a warning volley to be fired upon the group to send them away, but he had been warned about the White Princess and her self-righteous husband and he was not eager to be harangued by the woman he had spent most of his working life protecting his queen against. Bowing to the inevitable, he and the rest of the leaders among the people currently ready to defend the castle had prepared as much as they could. The shifters' chief, Liam, had left two of his lieutenants and a handful of wolves visible, while the rest took to the shadows, hidden but ready. The High Commander had placed less than the ninth of his people, stationing the rest at the barracks on the southern side, by the lake - close enough to be of help if needed, but far enough to give the illusion of not being in the castle. His own men knew what to do, aware that the failure of their duties would find them suffering the wrath of their awe-inspiring queen.

Glancing up to the skies, he sighed. It was close to midday. Perhaps, he could get away with sequestering the group in the smallest dining hall, or perhaps in one of the waiting chambers around the throne room… Nathan would have something suitable for the occasion.

His contemplation was broken when he heard the gruff, lumbering guard with the no-nonsense attitude, by the name of Hammond shout out a warning for the newcomers. The guard was a boulder of the man and terrifying by looks alone, and whenever he spoke, his deep, growly voice made the earth itself shake. The main reason why Damian had placed him above the gate.

"What business have you here?" Hammond shouted down at the group.

Damian took in the men standing in front of the castle. He recognized three of them, but the other two were vaguely familiar as well. The Hooded menace was at the forefront of the crew, trying to appease the guard to let him in. Beside him stood the Agrabahni the Savior had taken a liking to, and on the other side from Hood was the minstrel, a scuffed lute resting across his back. The other two were tall, one blond, the other brunet. While the blond looked like he could beat several of his men to death, the other one had a willowy but powerful frame of a long-bow archer.

"That's Gilbert Whitehand," one of the Wolves grunted softly, as he pointed toward the last man. "Some say he is even better longbow-man than Hood himself," the shifter continued, confirming Damian's silent supposition.

"I am surprised the man allows anyone to claim to be better in archery than him. After all, that is his claim to fame, with Nottingham's tournament and all…" The captain turned to the Wolf, letting a mocking smirk twist his lips.

The young shifter beside him chuckled, shaking his head, before he leaned against the parapet with his elbows and backside. "Incoming," the fourth in command of the shifters warned, tossing his head as if to shake his unruly and long hair, but actually covertly pointing with his chin to the inner courtyard where both the White princess and her husband were hurrying down to the gate.

Damien grimaced. They had purposefully left the couple unappraised of the newcomers, hoping to stall for time, but apparently the Charmings had not spent the morning cloistered in their rooms as Red had guessed. "Hope Nathan is up for this," he murmured, watching the pixie haired woman descend on his lieutenant.

"He has help," the shifter spoke from beside him, still leaning against the parapet. And the captain followed his direction and saw the warrior woman and her Wolf intercept the couple just in time to distract them from what was happening at the gate. Watching them converse, their words followed with a lot of hurried gestures, and unhappy expressions, Damian could guess that the young brunette had managed to impress upon the White princess that the secrecy was paramount.

As that small disaster seemed to be avoided, the captain turned toward the Wolf beside him, taking in the man in the late morning winter Sun. He was tall and broad, and the man's russet colored hair shone red in the mild sunshine that contrasted with his glittering green eyes, partially hidden under the half-masted lids. Dressed in almost black skins, the man radiated danger, and Damian did not want to find himself against this shifter, particularly in the woods in the dark. How aptly was the man's name given, the captain considered quietly. "Where are the watchers, Conan?"

"Imogen and Deidre are hanging by the gate, but Eamon and Oisin are there by the entrance door." The shifter pushed away from the stone behind him. "I will join them as soon as the gate starts opening."

"Good," Damian nodded. "We will do our best to hide the Queen's absence from the castle, but they won't be fooled for long," he reasoned quietly, absently following the conversation happening between his men and the newcomers. "But, if they think she is accompanied by a large part of our forces, leaving us somewhat vulnerable, perhaps they will let something slip…" Then as the chains of portcullis started rattling, raising the heavy iron barrier, the Captain sent the shifter away. However, only a second later, he called after him. "Little Wolf," he used the translation of the man's name, making the Wolf look over his shoulder in disgruntled suffering. "Watch your back." The shifter nodded sharply before turning to the front and hurriedly came down the stairs, his long legs bringing him to the castle's door quite speedily, ducking inside just as the five men of the forest entered the courtyard.

Damian lifted his left hand in prearranged motion and just a moment later, every other soldier on the walls turned their bows and crossbows to the newcomers, ready for action but holding steady, both Empire and the Queen's Guard represented.

---

It amused the lieutenant of the Blacks to listen to Hammond menace the group at the gate, but what made his stern and suspicious facade crack was the way the young shifter girl corralled her friend before the princess could stomp over to him. With one ear, he followed the conversation behind him, while most of his attention was focused onto the gate. As soon as Hammond would remark that he would bring his superior over, he was next up in this whole show produced for the newcomers. Following along the boulder of the man's insistent questioning, Nathan glanced at the men gathered around him, noting their readiness and steady manner. All seven of them were in full regalia of Knights, armed to the teeth, and prepared to react at the smallest sign of treachery.

"Just keep quiet about Regina, Snow," the lieutenant heard the shifter say firmly. "No one is to know where she is and why she is away."

"But, they are the Merry Men, the Heroes of Sherwood and Nottingham," came the whiny voice of the princess, while her husband tried to speak to her in hushed tones. "And, Emma's friends. They deserve to know-" Snow would have gone on, but her tirade was sharply interrupted by Mulan's harsh voice.

"What gave you that idea?" Nathan glanced behind him to find the princess gaping at the warrior before rallying. But, the Empire woman just spoke over her stammers. "Your daughter didn't consider them friends, didn't even like them, and absolutely did not trust them. If it weren't for Belle, she would have killed Robin where he stood. They deserve nothing." The lieutenant hummed in agreement with the rebuke, and when Mulan's tone turned ice-cold and menacing, he almost smiled, delighted with the threat the woman uttered. "And you will tell them nothing, unless you want to end up in the dungeons yourself!"

However, before he could hear Snow's, or David's, reply, the signal came and he moved closer to the gate, entering the conversation with the men himself. While portraying more than real reluctance to let them in, he took in the men in front of him.

Dirty from what one assumed was the arduous travel through the thick of the brush growing on the southern slopes of the mountain range that made the northern border of White kingdom, the men seemed appropriately haggard. However, their leader wasn't as subdued by exhaustion, but rather seemed amped up for some reason. Nathan frowned at Robin's slightly unexpected behavior. Already cautious with their presence, that small inconsistency drew his attention, but as it was nothing overt, he could only resolve to watch the newcomers harder.

Raising his hand to the two men in charge of the pulleys, he gave the signal to raise the portcullis and then, he motioned for the guard at the gate to pull one of the heavy wings open just enough for the guests to squeeze in one by one. The moment Robin entered, one of the Black guards bared the others from coming in, brandishing a halberd in front of him.

"What is this?" the thief shouted in outrage, but Nathan just calmly stepped forward, followed by two of his chosen men.

"You insisted on coming in," Nathan said, pitching his voice loud enough so that the Merry Men at the gate could hear him as well. "But, you will not pass this point unless you disarm completely." When the man gaped him in still growing outrage, he raised his eyebrow and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "It is your choice. We have no need of you here."

"We are coming in friendship-" the man tried to wriggle out of the condition of his stay, but the Lieutenant of the Queen's Guard remained resolute.

"There are no friends here," the Black Knight hissed at the forester. "Not in these times. Only the family or the oath-bound."

"But-"

"You are neither," Nathan said firmly, switching the hands on the hilt, ready to draw, making his move rather an obvious threat. "Disarm, or leave!"

"Alright!" Robin snapped as soon as he saw the lead guard start to pull out his sword, his actions repeated by the two soldiers beside him. "Alright," he repeated. In a slow motion, he took off the longbow of his shoulder, not willing to further test the already cross men. Giving the bow, along with the quiver to one of the soldiers beside him, he reached for his sword belt, with the sword and two daggers hanging off it, unbuckling it and surrendering it to the same soldier. With the visible weapons away, he straightened up, placing his hands on his hips, but seeing the expression on the Lieutenant, he quelled in fear and dropped to his knee and pulled the additional daggers from his boots, quickly giving them up as well.

Rolling his eyes at the man, the Black Guard's Lieutenant waved him to step aside, accompanied by one of the soldiers, while the other one rushed away and placed the confiscated weapons in the closest armory, that would be under lock and key the minute all the men were disarmed. As soon as the man returned, Nathan motioned for another of Merry Men to enter, repeating the process with each one of them, ignoring the grumbling. He had even argued for complete search, but that had been seen as overkill, with the surveillance and restricted movements.

When the five were disarmed, the Lieutenant clicked his tongue and pivoted on his heel, leading the men inside the castle, pleased to see the assigned shifters pop out of the shadows as soon as they crossed the threshold, their sudden appearance startling the newcomers and preventing the White Princess from approaching. Ordinarily, the guests would be escorted to the throne room, or if the Queen ordered so, they would be brought up to wherever she would be. However, with the situation being what it was, the Black knight was guiding the newcomers to a small, rarely used room connected to both the entrance hall and the throne room, serving as an antechamber of sorts for those who needed privacy before seeking audience with the monarch. With the door to the throne room sealed, the antechamber was the perfect place to keep the unwanted visitors until the proper solution was found.

Opening the door, Nathan let the guests precede him. As the men entered inside, Nathan motioned for two of his men and one of the wolves to stay behind and bar the door. "Two taps, then two more," he instructed quickly in a whisper. "If I mention the princess, assume coercion and treachery." Getting the grim nods in return, he then motioned to the door and went inside.

He was pleased to see that his men found their places at the corners of the room, standing guard, while the shifters took their seats in what appeared to be a random pattern. As he considered the room further, he realized it wasn't random at all. The antechamber was equipped with two simple but padded benches, a small desk close to one of the corners and three chairs, and while the newcomers had remained standing, the wolves quickly claimed the chairs, leaving one for him, while two of the shifters took their seats at the benches, preventing the guests to cluster if they desired to sit down. Which, assuming they had trekked for hours through harsh landscape, was a given.

Nodding in acknowledgement to the shifter who offered him the last chair, conveniently placed only several feet away from the door, he sat down, adjusting his sword as he leaned back. "You've gained entrance," he started, drawing attention from the clustered guests murmuring at the center of the room. "Now, speak. What is it that you want?"

Immediately, Hood surged forward, pushing the gentle, restraining arm of his friend away. "We've done nothing to deserve this treatment," he scowled, pointing the finger at the lead Black Knight. "I demand to speak to Regina!" At his utterance, every Black Knight in the room reached for their swords, their action warning other men of the imminent danger. The Agrabahni pulled the leader back, letting his friends hold the man quiet. Then, raising his hands, he approached the Lieutenant.

"I apologize for my friend," the dark-skinned man spoke in a conciliatory manner. "Our journey was long and hard." When Nathan did not react to his words, his hand still on the pommel of his sword, the foreigner bowed at the waist, but still kept his eyes to the men stationed at the corners. "No disrespect was meant," he added earnestly, but his open expression turned to wince when Nathan scornfully shook his head.

"Perhaps it was not meant," the Lieutenant spoke quietly, his words heard by everyone due to the fraught silence enveloping the room. "But, this is not the first time he has insulted his betters. Her Grace may have pardoned his one lapse of judgment, but our Queen is not so merciful." Catching the eyes of the forest thief, he continued in his even tone, with chilled malice dripping from his words. "Should I just relieve him of his head now and prevent future mistakes?"

Just as he had hoped, the provocation worked, and the leader of the Merry Men exploded in outrage, once more surging forward, even though two of his friends tried to hold him back. But, the man froze when he felt the cold edge of a blade rest on his shoulder, touching his neck. With wide eyes, Hood glanced to the side, finding one of the Black soldiers holding the sword to him, the man having come upon him while everyone else had been preoccupied by the ruckus the thief had created.

In the deathly silence that followed, Nathan crossed his arms. "If you cannot comport yourself in a proper manner, our dungeons are available for teaching you some," he said firmly, his disdain clear to all in the room.

Finally, under his harsh gaze and the threat of armed men and ever-ready shifters, the newcomers chose their seats and settled themselves down quietly, Robin sitting on the closest edge of the left-sided bench while the Agrabahni did the same on the right, the fair-colored man suddenly wary of the shifter sitting beside him, his eyes also darting to the soldier that had threatened him with his blade. With a wave of his hand, Hood prompted the Agrabahni to continue.

"We need to speak to her Majesty," the other man said respectfully after a long sigh.

"What about?" the Lieutenant queried, not letting his eyes move away from the thief.

Robin shifted forward. "That's for her ears only," he spoke up before his friend could reply, but only a second later he added with a little more deference, "Her Majesty needs to hear what I have for her, and it is a secret I can't share with others."

The Lieutenant tried to coax the man into elaborating further but the forest thief shut down, petulantly crossing his arms and leaning back, shaking his head every time Nathan spoke. Disgusted with the man's behavior, the Black Guard rose to his feet and walked over to the door, pounding it hard in a prearranged knock with his gauntlet. As he got out, the watchers assigned to the newcomers that had been left guarding the door went inside and closed the door behind them. And, there, just outside of the view of the door stood Damian with four more guards, waiting for the news.

"He insists on seeing the Queen," the Lieutenant immediately briefed his superior, motioning the four to stand guard at the door. "Secret for her ears only, he says." Walking with the captain, he left the shadows of the entrance hall and went to a small chamber not too far away that once upon a time had served as the guards' break room. "Others seem to have no idea what it is about, just following his lead."

Damian hummed in acknowledgement. "So, he doesn't know she isn't here," he noted quietly. "Then, we stall as much as we can. You go back in, 'She's in mourning, no time for an irritant like him, why hadn't he told her when she was at the Charmings' Castle', and similar. He will no doubt insist on seeing her. Then, I will go in with the same deal."

"Going up the chain of command," Nathan spoke, realizing his Captain's plan. "And, when he finally loses his temper, she is unavailable because she has important business and children to console."

The Captain of the Guard nodded, leaning against the wall. "If we're lucky, he'll break before the evening bell."

"If not?"

"We push for the 'Queen's in seclusion' ploy for as long as we can. Hopefully, she'll return soon enough." Then, Damian sighed, and pushing off the wall, he brought his hand to his chin, scratching at the beard in frustration. "The Princess is the problem," he uttered in resignation. "She is already harping on her friends that we have to feed our guests, and I suspect she will push in on the meeting in a matter of hours, at the most."

"Mulan seemed to have a good handle on her," Nathan commented, remembering the conversation in the courtyard.

"Here's hoping." But, the man's expression was grim at the prospect. They all knew about Snow's ability to keep a secret.

---

"I just don't understand why are you keeping them imprisoned in that room, when they are already under the guard," David murmured to the Captain of the Guard, aware of the man's tense posture despite him leaning against the wall with his shoulder and side.

The Charming had left his wife in their chambers, escaping the rapidly escalating argument between Snow's best friend, the Empire woman and Snow. The women had dragged them away from the courtyard, actually grabbing their arms and pulling them inside, and Mulan had explained in her precise and sharp manner how their 'guests' were going to be treated, ignoring both his and Snow's questions and interjections. But, for some reason, Snow had refused to settle down, bringing up Robin Hood time and time again, to Red's constant sniffing and eye-rolling. There was a story there, he had known but it hadn't seemed like the time to demand answers from his wife, her already being so agitated with both Emma's and Regina's absence, and now with this event.

He had snuck out of the rooms and returned to the castle's main entrance, hoping to find someone who could give him answers. And, as luck would have it, he had stumbled upon Damian, dressed in his full regalia as the Captain of the Guard, resting against the wall not far from the big door. But, when he had made a move to enter the hallway, a long shaft of the halberd barred his way, the weapon appearing in front of him so suddenly that he had let out a startled grunt. It had taken the captain's hand motion to the guard to allow him passage, and not willing to waste this opportunity, David hadn't complained about the treatment and just ventured to stand beside the Black Knight, respectfully greeting the man. Regina's man hadn't wasted any time, letting him ask his questions but with the stipulations of keeping his voice down and respecting the man's authority in the castle.

Damian looked at the Princess's husband, his eyes narrowing on the more familiar features, using his resemblance to the Savior to curtail his tongue. "The men are highly skilled in infiltrating secure places," he said quietly. "The suspicious manner of their arrival and Hood's odd behavior are enough for us to be on guard, and leaving a threat, no matter how small or unlikely, uncovered in a castle where the children of most powerful people in the Enchanted Forest are currently residing, is a folly of unseen magnitude." He looked away and snorted at the man's short gasp. "I have no desire telling her Majesty that I had failed in keeping the Savior's children completely safe from any and all dangers," he added, invoking the couple and hoping that their mention would stay the man's further questioning on this topic.

Imagining Regina at her worst standing in front of him because something had happened to Henry or Kyle, David visibly shuddered, his throat closing in a sudden but short jolt of panic. But, seeing his daughter's face in his mind, twisted in anger and grief, her murderous eyes focused on him, he felt his blood freeze. Forcing his taut muscles to work, he nodded, not willing to ever provide a cause for his daughter to look at him in such a way. He then sighed, heavily, and leaned his back against the wall, kicking his legs a bit further in front of him.

"Can I ask you something?" He quietly uttered as he looked up at the captain. "What is the difference between Black Knights, Black Guard and Queen's Guard?" When the man tilted his head in slight bewilderment, David took his eyes off him and focused on a spot on the opposite side wall. "I mean, I heard people address you with all three so…" Hearing the guard at the door snort at his words, David stopped speaking, his words tapering off.

"It's actually quite simple," the captain replied, after tossing a glare toward the soldier. "The Black Knights are the entirety of Queen Regina's forces, every soldier, every guard, everyone that is remotely connected to the defense and policing of this kingdom." As he spoke, he pushed off his spot at the wall and started slowly pacing in front of the other man. "The force is further divided into the Heartless and the Sworn. Her Majesty used the Heartless as a brute instrument, and as a fear factor, while the Sworn were her more subtle tools. The spies, all of the Queen's Guard, most of the Black Guard." After David's nod of understanding, Damian continued. "The Black Guard are the palace guards, distinguished soldiers who proved themselves and elevated into more special service, and from these, the best of the best are chosen for the Queen's Guard." The captain then chuckled. "Being who she is, Her Majesty very rarely had use of the Queen's Guard, rather choosing to surround herself with a mixture of Heartless and Black Guard if she needed escort." He looked at David and smiled. "It is with the presence of the little ones that she reformed the Queen's Guard and made me in charge of it, with one simple and pervasive task."

"Protect the children," David supplied with a soft sigh.

"Protect the children," Damian confirmed.

"And, the Sworn…" The man hesitated for a moment. "You are all so loyal to a woman who has killed so many," the former shepherd added in muted revelation, ignoring the sudden agitation from the soldier at the door. "How did she gain your loyalty?"

Damian looked David into the eyes and seeing earnest interest in them, he waved the Guard back to his place. "Did you know that King Leopold held monthly events, for which he would order his men to gather all the criminals, and when the numbers of those were low, all the beggars, lepers, invalids they could find and then he would preside over their executions, entertaining his court? His actions have led to more than five thousand innocents dead." At the man's horrified expression, the captain pressed on. "He also loved to host parties for his nobles and other kings, spending the kingdom's Treasury without concern for his people. And, when it got too low on available funds, he authorized taxes that brought most of the realm from the wealthiest kingdom in the Enchanted Forest to the brink of poverty and beyond. It was only Her Majesty's shrewd intervention that kept the kingdom from bankruptcy." Seeing his words land with the false prince, the captain went further, needing to hammer in the point. "King Xavier regularly demanded young, unbloodied girls to be brought to his chambers, killing them afterwards instead of sending them home. King John of Ulstead razed an entire forest, home to many, many creatures and source of wood and food for many of his people, because his wife, the Queen, wanted a large field where she could ride without pesky trees getting in the way. Seven villages left to starve and freeze to death. More than a thousand dead." He came closer to the naive but still self-righteous prince, getting into his startled face. "King Stephan forcibly conscripted more than a tenth of his kingdom's population to work in the iron mines, and the average life expectancy of those was about two years, much less if they were children. Your own pretend father used the turmoil in both Nottingham and King Christopher's kingdom to pillage and raze the border towns and villages, sending the captives to work in various gem mines as slaves, while he used all the ill-gotten gains to keep his own kingdom's coffers from being empty. When that failed, he conspired with various elements to take over Ghellend from Midas by the way of marriage, for which he needed you." He sharply poked the stunned man in the chest at the last word. "Her Majesty the Evil Queen might have been a killer, but she had never been guided by greed. She did her best to make the kingdom safe for women and children. She had her father deal with the taxes in such a way to keep the coffers full but the villages and towns prosperous as well. However, it was only after being faced with actual treason from the Princess, and the uprisings of the people, that she became the true Evil Queen of the stories. The thing is, she had every right to act as she did, as the ruling monarch; and Snow's temper tantrum notwithstanding, she was and is the Queen." As his words ringed out in the empty hallway, the captain of the Guard took a deep breath and brought down his intensity, and stepped away from David, giving the man some space. "As for loyalty, that is between her and her men," he added almost absent-mindedly.

"How do you know all this?" David asked quietly.

Damian considered the man before him, tilting his head to the side, before he clicked his tongue. "The previous Captain of the Queen's Guard, my old mentor, was the Queen's chief spymaster," he gave the succinct answer and turned away from the false prince.

---

With his mind on the conversation with the captain, Charming slowly walked up to the Royal Chambers. He had guessed about his 'father's' intentions for Midas, but to hear it so plainly, along with confirmations of George's (and other kings') crimes had been deeply unsettling. And, it only made him glad that Spencer had been dealt with already, that his family was safe from the ruthless tyrant's machinations.

In an effort to clear his thoughts of the darkness plaguing them, he sighed heavily and focused on his current goal. He hadn't spent much time with his grandsons, preoccupied with everything else, and now, he wanted to correct that oversight. It was with that in mind that he, having climbed a wide staircase from the hallway beside the throne room, passed a duo of Black Guards standing beside the two-winged door of the main entrance to the Royal Chambers and thumped the bottom of his fist against the hard wood instead of knocking, before he actually realized what he had done. So far, the family had been using the exit toward the gardens as the door to the rooms, leaving the big door closed and locked, and no doubt the change would be met with suspicion, especially with the whole castle on alert. The sound of rusty mechanism turning brought him out of the recriminating thoughts, and he looked up.

The door moved a small way inwards and a wary looking Neal peered from behind them, opening the door wider the second he saw David there. "Oh, hey," he murmured as Charming went by him, closing the door with a snap and placing back the latch on them and turning a large key. At David's curious look, Neal shrugged his shoulders and waved the man further inside. "Henry," he called out, drawing the attention of the boy laying on his belly by the fireplace, scribbling something into one of numerous notebooks Regina had insisted for him to have. Beside the boy was the toddler, leaning against his older brother as he played with the colored cubes, all the while keeping a constant stream of babble, with only a few words properly recognisable.

"Gramps," Henry spoke up, not moving from his place. "Hey."

"Hello, boys. You up for a company?" The blond man approached the kids and folding his limbs, he sat down in front of them. The minute he settled down, Kyle looked up from his toys and clapped his hands.

"Gah!" the toddler squealed before he clambered onto his feet and slowly teetered over to David, falling into his waiting arms, giggling when the large hands tickled his sides. "Ehwy, Gah!" the boy babbled before he stumbled over to his big brother, his clumsy steps demolishing the small sculpture he had made before. "Ehwy, Ehwy," he waved at the older boy as Henry got up to his knees, encouraging the toddler to come to him, before wrapping him into his arms and settling him down in front of the blocks.

"How are you doing?" David asked, looking at the boys playing together as if Kyle had indeed been in the family for all the months he had been alive.

"Okay," Henry replied quietly as he gave his brother a brightly red cube.

"He started fussing after his first nap," Neal commented as he sat down as well, within arm reach of the small boy, joining in the play. "We've been distracting him whenever he starts getting irritable, but he is losing patience."

"He misses-" Henry started saying, before he cut himself off, not willing to set off the child in his arms, swallowing the word he was about to say. "The Queen," he finally added heavily. "And, I think, the Savior, too."

David frowned at Henry's words. "Does he even remember her?"

"He does," the older boy firmly stated, his green eyes resolute as he looked up at his grandfather. "Has a name for her, as well."

With the way how both Neal and Henry were avoiding saying the women's names, David could only assume that Kyle's tantrums might have been triggered by a random mention. "How can I help?" he asked both of them.

Neal chuckled as the younger boy angrily tossed a blue cube back at him, with a stream of babble following his move. "We need something to keep him occupied after the second nap, but low key enough not to overtire him for later." When, once again, his help with the toys had been rejected in favor of Henry's additions, Neal smirked at the older boy, but didn't comment. "The Queen left detailed instructions for him, but I guess she underestimated how pernickety he would be with her absence." Motioning to Henry, he turned to David. "So far, only Henry keeps his attention, but we need something else…"

The older boy looked up, tilting his head. "Well, it is Christmas Eve," he murmured as he accepted a green block Kyle gave him. "Thank you, Kyle," he said to the toddler, placing the block on the two Kyle had arranged before.

"That actually isn't a bad idea," Neal agreed, nodding, before turning to look at the Charming.

"I agree," the man said. "And, it just might provide enough distraction for Snow to lay off the Black Guard." David got up to his feet and went to the garden entrance door, pulling them open. "Hey," he addressed the guard stationed there. "Can you send someone for the captain?" When the guard frowned, his hand landing on his sword, David waved his concern away. "We just need to speak to him," he spoke quickly, before he pivoted back into the quarters. Then, he stopped and leaned back, adding, "And, someone from the pack leadership, they can help as well." After that, he closed the door and went back to the people inside.

"What d'you need Damian for?" Neal spoke up in confusion. "Or the Wolves?"

David smiled as he clapped his hands, turning to Henry. "What does every Christmas need?"

The boy in question frowned for a moment before his face lit up. "A tree!"

"Right," Neal mumbled. "Guess we can't just pop out to the first dollar store and buy one of those collapsible ones?" he remarked, chuckling when his son thumped his thigh in admonishment.

"That's my job," David said, brimming with excitement. "I know just where to start." He looked at the boys. "You will be in charge of making all the ornaments and getting your grandmother to help."

"And, I am just a chaperone?"

"No," David disagreed with a teasing smirk. "You, my friend, are on scavenger duty. They'll need stuff." Then, grabbing Neal by his arm, he pulled him towards the kids. "Alright, I will get a small, well, small-ish tree. Some kind of fir, or spruce… I'll see what's around." He turned to his older grandson. "Think about what should go on it."

When the harsh knocks on the door came, the three of them had a workable plan for the ornaments and decorations, Henry delighting in having to make some of them from the plentiful of notebooks and reams of paper his mother had packed.

"You asked for us," Damian said as soon as David opened the door, letting Roma precede him into the room, wary of the exuberant faces pointed in his direction, especially coming from the man he had seen less than an hour before, looking morose.

---

What had followed had left the Captain of the Guard thoroughly bewildered. In a few short sentences, the Crown Prince had explained what this Christmas was and how it was important to his family, and then, the boy and his grandfather started expounding on what exactly they wanted to do, and what they needed from the Guard and the Wolves. At first, he had balked at the magnitude of what they had intended to do in a few short hours, but the one fact that got him to agree to their requirements. When both the Prince and the Princess's husband ardently claimed that Snow would definitely be involved in this project and in child care for the youngest of the Mills family, he acceded to everything.

Agreeing to meet with David at the lowest tier of the royal gardens and armed with a list of things needed, he left the Royal Chambers and rushed down to the granary, grabbing a torch and an idle looking guard on the way. "Find me a small satchel or something," he directed the man as he went into the clearly demarcated sections for various types of grain, finding the part holding the corn kernels quite easily. Accepting the hemp satchel from his man, he poured several handfuls inside, sniffling at the dust that rose with his movements. Giving the bag to the guard, he led them to the larders and after a short conversation with one of the temporary cooks, he was given a lidded pan and a small tub of fat. With that part of the list done, he sent off the guard to the Chambers with the things, giving him instructions to stay around in case the Crown Prince needed a runner.

Checking on the state of their guests, Damian agreed with his second in command's orders to prepare lodgings for the Merry Men in one of the receiving rooms for the dignitaries. They would still be under constant guard, but they would have a bit of space and a place to rest and eat in peace. And, they would have access to facilities. After several hours of holding the men, it was becoming an issue that in the current position presented a security risk for the watchers, if they had to ferry their guest to the first available toilet. The Guard had provided a midday meal for the newcomers, but they hadn't gotten out of the way to make the outlaws comfortable. "Move them as soon as the rooms are secure. As the night falls, I want doubled teams in the hallways around the quarters, and no holes in the security, not even for the change of guard." Satisfied that his instruction would be followed, Damian patted Nathan's shoulder and walked out, nodding in greeting to various Knights he crossed paths with.

Slightly out of breath with all of the running around and climbing up and down the stairs in the large castle, he walked to the rooms the former Princess had chosen for herself and her husband, and as he approached the door, he could still hear the woman arguing with her friends. Suddenly, a loud, but disarticulated shout of frustration pierced the wood, coming out clearly on the other side.

"Fine, if you want, you may join them, but they will remain where the Guard has them stationed and you will not speak of the family or Regina to them," the shifter's clearly angry voice reached him.

"Ruby, is that really necessary?" the White Princess whined. Rolling his eyes at the recalcitrant and, honestly, childish behavior of the Savior's mother, he came to the wood barring his entrance and using the steel parts of his articulated gauntlet, he pounded on it, startling the people inside out of their quarrel. Without waiting for someone to open the door for him, he entered, his lips pulling into a barely there smirk on an otherwise very stoic bearing at the relief flashing through the shifter's eyes at the interruption, while the warrior remained calm, the only sign of her upset was the clenched hand around the hilt of her sword. But, the pixie haired woman farthest from the door outright scowled at him, her mouth twisting into an angry moue. As soon as the confusion caused by his abrupt appearance cleared, the young Wolf offered him a smile before her face instantly twisted into worry.

"The kids?" Red asked immediately, turning to him and ready to leave.

Raising his hands, he allowed his own expression to soften as he faced the Empire warrior and the shifter. "They are fine," he spoke quickly, before he focused his glare on the Princess. "You may be cavalier with the lives of the children you are in charge of protecting," he spoke clearly, with a steel edge in his voice. "But I am not! Her Majesty, the Queen has left me in charge of their safety and I take the matter seriously." Satisfied to see Snow blanching at the scolding look tossed her way, he then turned to the shifter. "The young Prince requires help about something called Christmas?" He hesitated over the name, but when the former Princess blinked in surprise and the Wolf nodded, he assumed he had the word right. "He asks for help making decorations for what he called trimming." And, as the men in the chambers had promised, the White child was drawn immediately in the conversation, coming closer to him despite her disdain for his behavior and decisions.

"Henry wants to trim a Christmas tree?" Surprise in Snow's voice was quite clear, her previous animosity forgotten. "With what?"

"Well," Damian frowned, trying to remember what the Crown Prince had told him about it. "I thought that is why he needs help?" he offered uncertainly. "To make things?"

"Knowing him, he already has a plan," Ruby added, coming closer to him, her hand landing softly on his shoulder, unbothered by the presence of his armor. "But, all this is pointless if there isn't a tree to trim," she commented sagely.

Captain nodded. "That is being taken care of. The false Princeling is in charge of getting it to the Royal Chambers." He ignored the way the Princess's face pinched at the insult, directing his words at the Wolf. "Several of your kind are providing help with labor."

"Well, if David is on tree duty," the shifter chuckled in amusement. "It is up to us to help our boy with the trimmings, ain't it?" Taking the warrior's hand, she pulled her outside, leaving the captain with the White Princess alone, in her chambers. But, before he could escape as well, she grabbed him by the elbow.

"Did Henry say anything else?" She peered at him, her eyes narrowed, with one eyebrow raised and her lips pressed into a thin, straight line. On Her Majesty, his Queen the expression would portray suspicion, or even shrewdness, but on the woman who obviously tried to emulate it, and failed, it looked like he had walked on her in the middle of her visit to the toilets. "His desire to celebrate Christmas seems sudden," she added when the Captain remained silent, his eyes darting between her hand on his arm and her face, before she removed the hold she had on him, her cheeks flooding with color.

"The younger Prince misses Her Majesty, and the amusements the Crown Prince has for him are failing to keep his attention," he offered before he turned away and left, sincerely hoping that the princess would join her grandsons. With hurried and long strides, he crossed the inner hallways leading to the entrance into the garden and then he rushed down the steps, careful of the ice encasing them.

At the bottom of the stairs in the gardens, the captain found David and three of the unassigned Wolves with him, each carrying either a shovel or a pickaxe, and the last one of them was also with a large hemp cloth, and a roll of twined rope. "What's that for?" Damian asked, motioning to the hemp.

"It's for the roots," the blond man said. "You'll see."

Satisfied with the promise, he led the group to the trees that fitted the man's description, showing David the firs and pines bordering the gardens. "Pick one."

The blond was quick in his deliberations, picking a small, man-sized, fir, and he motioned for the rope, and with the help from one of the Wolves, he tied the full branches out of the way. Then, he and the others set to work on the frozen ground, two Wolves using pickaxes to break the surface around the tree, careful not to damage it, while the Prince and the remaining Wolf used the shovels to remove the earth. Due to the cold, the labor was hard and it took the four men more than two hours to dig the tree up, David and Damian spelling each other because the two of them simply couldn't keep up with the shifters' stamina and power. But, their efforts were rewarded, when finally the five men entered the Royal Chambers, carrying the tree between them, careful not to break the branches, because their arrival was greeted by the ecstatic Crown Prince.

---

It was strange being a part of a whirlwind that was happening in the Royal Chambers. As she helped out by folding various leaves of paper in specific shapes, following Henry's instructions, she listened to her lover explaining all the particulars of the holiday they were preparing for. While some of the customs seemed odd, she could appreciate that it was a time for family and celebration, especially since their world seemed to ignore days like Solstices and such. By her side, Ruby was expertly pushing fluffy bits of overheated corn onto a string, making a white garland of it, bemoaning the staleness of the corn under her breath. However, she saw no attraction in eating this 'pop corn' as the boy and her lover called it.

"Hey," Ruby murmured, pressing onto her shoulder with her own. "Look," she discreetly pointed to Snow who was sitting on a pillow close to Henry, cutting one of Regina's silk robes into ribbons. "No wonder the Guard is so helpful with this," the shifter sniggered quietly, as the women watched the White Princess direct the boy using her teacher's knowledge into making decorations, completely taking over the production, but she still took the boy's suggestions and ideas. Due to engagement here, the Princess had laid off her arguments for releasing the guests, giving the guards and the two of them some reprieve.

"It won't last beyond the evening," Mulan whispered to her lover, her eyes catching the signs of tiredness around the shifter's eyes. And, in those deep blues, a hidden pain lurked, no doubt connected to the woman they were talking about.

"It's a break," Ruby shrugged her shoulders, looking away. "And, Neal will get Kyle up in a bit, so there is a child to watch over."

The warrior hummed in hesitant agreement and went back to work, the pile of paper figurines growing in front of her feet, glancing at the Wolf from time to time, her concern abating for the moment but still present. As her hands were busy, the conversation flowed, the topics changing, but a time or two, the subject would turn to the Savior, and every time Emma's name would be mentioned, Henry would perk up, asking questions. Ruby and Snow would talk about their shenanigans in Storybrooke and Mulan would speak to the times she had spent around the Sheriff, providing the boy with the new details about his mom. But, even though the women had a lot to say about Emma, Mulan noted that each one of them avoided certain events and topics, fearing that broaching them would bring the child's mood down, and after that morning's mishap, he really did not need that.

Luckily, it was the boy himself who changed the subject. "When I was little, Mom used to play the piano. Every Christmas she would play and sing the carols for me," he spoke slowly, his voice quivering.

"Piano?" Mulan softly asked Ruby.

"It's a key instrument, like the thing…" Ruby tried to explain, but she didn't know all the fancy gadgets the courts and the wealthy had. "Snow, what's that thing here similar to piano?"

"Clavichord or harpsichord…" the Princess replied readily, still looking at Henry. "She played?" she asked the boy in surprise. "Willingly?" The boy nodded, but Mulan frowned at the questions.

"Why do you ask?" she prodded, looking for the reason the pixie haired brunette was stunned to hear about it.

"It's just…" Snow hesitated over her words, turning toward the warrior but her eyes taking side glances at the boy. "When she was married to my father, she tried to teach me. She said that although she hated it, a princess should know how to play at least one instrument." She explained, but it seemed like she was holding something back. Knowing who and what her father had been, Mulan did not insist on further elaboration.

"Well, if she was right," Ruby quickly intervened. "You'll be glad to know that Emma knows how to play the guitar."

"Guitar Hero doesn't count," the Princess threw back, after her eyebrows went up.

"Oh, no," the shifter chuckled. "Although she is the champion at that, she really does know how to play."

After the strange words started becoming a part of conversation more and more, Mulan excused herself, pleased to note that her assigned work was finished. Rising to her feet, she pressed a kiss to her lover's head before she walked to the other occupants of the quarters, walking softly so she would not disturb the youngling as he fed from a bottle with a nipple looking thing at the top. Neal nodded at her with a smile, gesturing the place beside him on the sofa and she took the offer eagerly. "He looks good," she murmured, taking in the boy's features. In the two months he'd been away, he had grown, but his recognizable blond locks and piercing blue eyes remained the same. "Your sister suits him," she added, pleased with her conclusion. Indeed, Aurora and the village women had done their best for the boys from Neverland, but the toddler had bonded with the brunette and only her presence had seemed to calm him down. "How are you dealing with her absence?"

Before Neal could answer, the boy finished his bottle and pushed it into his uncle's hand, before he forced himself out of his lap, his eyes focused on her as he made grabby motions with his hands. "M'la!" he screeched, when she didn't react fast enough. "M'la!"

"I think he is trying to say your name," the man said, placing the boy in between them, "You wanna help feed him?"

Mulan blinked. "But, he already ate?"

"That's only a half of it," Neal commented, placing a small jar with an apple scented mush inside into her hand and a wooden spoon into the other. "Regina made the schedule, and she is the only one of us who raised a child, so, I figured, she knows her stuff."

Conceding to the man, Mulan spooned a bit of the mush and offered it to the child, careful not to hurt him with the utensil. "You didn't answer," she reminded Neal.

"It's hard," he sighed. "To think that she raised the kid on her own…" The man rubbed his face before he turned slightly towards her. "Henry helps, a lot. And, he is the only one who can keep him calm." He glanced toward the fireplace, his eyes finding his son for a moment before he looked back at Mulan feeding Kyle. "This morning, I… I think he saw that Henry was gone, and he just started screaming, and he stopped only because he tired himself out and tuckered in." With his defeated posture, the man seemed helpless, before his face twisted in sadness, his shoulders pulling up. "He was calling for them, you know? Both of them."

"Henry and…" Mulan motioned vaguely to him in question.

Neal shook his head before he scratched his cheek as he considered. "Well, yes, him too, but… He called for his parents."

Just about then, Kyle ate the last bit of the mush, and with the loud call of his version of Henry's name, he clambered off the sofa. Before he could faceplant, the quick arms wrapped around him and lifted him up. "Careful, child," the warrior spoke gently before she set him down, only a few feet away from his big brother, her tall frame drawing the attention of the boy, who immediately invited Kyle to come to him. With the toddler safely in care of his brother and grandmother, Mulan returned to Neal. "You didn't tell Henry, did you?"

Another sigh gave her enough of the answer. "With everything else, he doesn't need that."

She opened her mouth, but before a platitude could escape her, the door to the chambers opened wide and in strolled the men carrying an evergreen tree, its roots wrapped in a hemp. Suddenly, there were too many people inside, and after sharing a glance with her lover, Mulan chose to leave, the Captain of the Guard and Red following her out.

---

They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing in the corridor they'd taken leading to the room the Guard had assigned to her and Mulan. But, it wasn't long before the Captain stopped and turned to them, catching Ruby by her elbow. "This thing?" he murmured urgently. "Is it important?"

"What do you mean?"

"This Krismat thing?" He said, his hand falling down from her elbow and landing on his sword. "Is it important for Her Majesty? And the Crown Prince and the babe?" The women looked at him in confusion but Ruby hesitantly nodded.

"I mean, kinda." She glanced at her lover and shrugged. "The holiday wasn't kind to Emma, so she kinda hates it, but Regina celebrating it with Henry… Yeah, I guess it is, very important."

"I thought so," Damian mumbled before he looked around, scratching his beard. "If I know Her Majesty at all," he started, slowly guiding the women to their room, getting them out of the hallway. "And, with the years I spent around her, I believe I do." He sighed heavily, opening the door for them and letting the women enter first. "She would not bring sorrow to her children. Not after all the misery she's been through."

Mulan hummed in consideration, walking to the fireplace. "You believe she will return tomorrow," she spoke up as she crouched down, lighting the pre-set kindling. "For Henry and Kyle?" she added, rising to her feet and dusting off her hands. The Captain only nodded, leaning against the door, the hard rattling of his armor accentuating his reply.

It made sense, Ruby thought. But, she had left for Emma… "But, the dragon, and Emma." The shifter rubbed her face before she pushed her hair off her forehead. "She wouldn't abandon the search for her so quickly. I mean, Emma is her True Love." She looked at Mulan. "Right?"

"So is Henry," the warrior gently disagreed. "And, I cannot say for sure, because I am not a parent, but don't the children come first?" Coming up to the shifter, Mulan brought her arm around the woman's back and pulled her into a half hug. "No matter what?"

Ruby scoffed. "Not according to my mother," she muttered bitterly, the scowl twisting her features, her words prompting the warrior to bring her into a full hug, kissing her cheek in comfort. "Okay," the shifter spoke up after a moment spent in the soothing hold of her lover. She moved a bit, putting some space between her and Mulan, but still remaining wrapped in the strong arms. "If you are right, then what?"

"I don't want her walking in here unaware."

"And, you can't send advance patrols out," the warrior pointed out, and the captain waved in confirmation.

The Wolf frowned, her head swiveling between the two. "Why not?" The two shared a look and Damian shrugged, letting the Imperial soldier answer.

"We don't know the direction Regina is coming from," Mulan started, raising her finger. "If she would even ride in, rather than just," she swished her hand in front of her in lieu of finding the word, "in. That would require patrols on every access point to this area in order to head her off before reaching the castle, which needs more people than Damian can spare." Then, Mulan pointed to the lit fireplace. "With the Sun down, the snap-freeze is settling in, and it is much worse than when you and Emma caught us outside. Sending people out in this weather is…"

"Callous," the Captain of the Guard supplied when the warrior hesitated over the word. "And, waste of men," he added with a stolid shrug.

Mulan's lips flattened at his words, but she didn't comment on them. "And, even if it weren't so cold, having so many people enter and exit the castle, especially during the night, when the visibility is downright terrible, is just too great a risk for the security of the castle and people inside."

"So, it's a no go, then," Ruby sighed, moving away from the warrior's arms, bracing herself against the mantle above the fireplace. "Maybe, signal fires or something?" she asked, her eyes on the dancing flames below her.

"Good idea," Damian murmured, the sound of his armor moving telling Ruby he had stepped away from the door. "But, the wind is too high, it'll blow them out if we place them to be visible." She turned to the side and saw him stand, three feet away from the door, shuffling back and forth, as if he were pacing, but only in place. "The signals," he murmured before he looked at her lover, his eyes bright. "Don't your people have some protocols with flags?"

"We do," Mulan replied slowly, before she shook her head. "But, one would have to know the meanings and combinations beforehand." With another idea dashed, the captain grunted in defeat, but the warrior caught Ruby's eyes. "How deep is the information exchange between the two?" she asked the shifter, and the brunette figured out exactly what she was asking for. Emma had studied the Empire methods a while before meeting the commander, and in their training lessons with Mulan, her knowledge only deepened.

"Pretty deep, in any case," Ruby replied immediately. "Emma knew how to ride, the layout of this castle and other places, even some obscure tidbits about people."

"She was a perfect Black Knight," Damian added helpfully. "As if she had trained with us for decades." As he considered his past with the Savior, he thought of something else. "And, she could emulate enough of Her Majesty to pass as a born and grown royal of this court. Quite surprised me with that one, she did," He added, muttering into his chin the last part. He then pursed his lips, biting the inside of his cheek. "This connection between them… It helps?"

Mulan nodded, but before she could reply, the shifter interrupted. "But you are forgetting one thing, Emma learned all this after Regina left for Storybrooke."

The warrior sighed, splaying her palm in front of her. "I am going on the assumption she's found the Savior."

"So, wait," Ruby got back on the topic, not willing to comment on the previous statement.. "You have a flag that says 'beware, we have unwanted visitors that are behaving suspiciously'?" The incredulity in her voice made the Black Knight chuckle at her outburst, and while Mulan sniggered softly, she quickly cleared her throat, suitably chastised by the harsh look thrown her way.

"Well, no," she contritely replied, pulling the shifter back in her arms, trying to erase the pout on the woman's face. "Not that, exactly, but we have something. Something that will make her be careful on the approach, if she remembers what Emma knows."

"Perfect," the captain exclaimed. "I'll let you deal with that, and I'll go check on the aforementioned 'visitors'." With a nod to the women he opened the door and left, leaving the door open behind him.

"Let's go see Cheng, then," Mulan sighed. She pressed a chaste kiss on Ruby's lips, before peering into the dark blue eyes. "I can go alone, beloved. I know you wanted a bit of quiet before the supper."

"No, I'll join you." Ruby took Mulan's arm and wrapped both of her own around it, and she gently pulled the woman to start going. "Do you think she found her?" she asked timidly, her voice soft in the silence of the dim hallways.

"This world is vast and it's been only two days," came the warrior's heavy reply. "With the dragon's guidance, perhaps she found her, but the real question is would she bring her here, taking her out of whatever safety she was supposed to be in."

"So, I'm guessing not."

"Do not be discouraged, my love," Mulan murmured against Ruby's ear. "The Sheriff is a walking miracle. Perhaps, she will be in this, too." After that encouragement, the two women fell silent as they walked to where the High Commander of the Imperial Guard had holed up. With a few exchanged sentences, Mulan arranged for the signalization to be put in place, and with that task done, they walked back to the Royal Chambers for dinner, honoring Henry's invitation. And, after a hearty meal, Mulan got to experience the tree trimming for the first time in her life, and the festive atmosphere, though dimmed by the absence of the two women, brought out many of the laughter of the small family gathered in the chambers.

It was later in the evening that Ruby saw Snow and David slipping out, and with a short explanation and a kiss on Mulan's cheek, she left to catch up with them, hoping to clear the air from the arguments she and Snow had been in that day, not willing to let it fester during the night. But, when her ribald teasing greeting didn't prompt her friend to react as the shifter had assumed she would, Ruby realized where the couple were going, all notions of getting past the disagreements evaporated like a warm breath on a cold day.

"You can't be serious," she hissed at the woman.

"I am not going to say anything," Snow swore in exasperation, while David stood quietly by her side. "I promise."

Scowling at the woman, the Wolf stepped aside, letting the White Princess pass, but instead of letting it completely go, she decided to chaperone the couple, hoping that if Snow was about to have an attack of loose lips, she could stop her before any damage was done.

However, whether the Charmings were tired after the long day, or because she felt uncomfortable being accompanied to meet the Merry Men and their less than illustrious leader, Snow didn't stay long with the guests, inquiring only after their lodgings and if she could help them in some way. When Robin, trying to play on her sympathies and obvious delight at meeting him, asked after Regina, the Princess stuck to the script the Black Guard had put forward, selling the story about being sequestered in mourning.

Only half an hour later, with Charmings safely enclosed in their chambers, Ruby entered her own room and went to bed, slipping into the waiting arms of the warrior.

---

Watching the Sun rise from the parapets of the higher tower of the Castle had always been a secret pleasure for Damian. As the Sun rose, its rays would first hit the calm waters of the lake, and it made it seem that the whole horizon to the East was covered in mirrors, sending various hues of color in the air, and despite the harsh winter winds, it seemed warm.

He stood beneath the flagpoles, leaning against the stone wall and with a cup of steaming tea in his gauntlet-covered hand, he surveilled the lands around the castle, as they became visible under the rising Sun. It wouldn't be long before most of the inhabitants of the castle would wake up, and with the breaking of fast, he knew a lot of questions regarding their guests would come, not only from the White Princess, but from his own men. And there was the whole Christmas thing to consider, and despite Henry's brave face, the Captain of the Guard knew that if he didn't see his mothers on this day, his heart would break. So, he looked out to the access points to the castle and hoped. He so fervently hoped to at least see his Queen and the black steed rush over the white landscape.

So intently focused on the lands before him, he almost missed a slight tingle of magic passing over the back of his neck. However, as soon as his mind recognized the presence of it, in a split second, he pulled out his sword and pivoted to attack whoever appeared behind him, the blade slamming into something hard. As the sound of clash rang out, he took in the person in front of him, from her yellow hair, gleaming in the Sun, to the white leathers covering her body and feet. Finally, he saw the familiar eyes looking back at him from a face he knew. "Savior," he gasped, lowering the sword.

"I hope I didn't do anything to deserve this welcome," the woman before him joked, rolling her eyes at his stunned expression.

"Your Grace, I-I didn't-" he stuttered, raising his left hand in an attempt to apologize, but the blonde just huffed a lighthearted chuckle at him, her hand finding his shoulder.

"No trouble," she said, dismissing his words with a shake of her head. "Regina's on approach," she added, before she pointed upwards to the flags, swirling her finger about. "What's this?" the woman asked succinctly, her eyes piercing as she looked into his face.

"Mulan said it would work," he mumbled softly, before he shook his head, getting himself into gear. "Oh, I need to alert the guards at the gate, and-" he tried to get inside, but the hand on his shoulder pinned him in place.

"Stop," the Savior ordered sharply. "There is still time, half an hour's worth. Now, tell me about this!"

"Robin and four of his men are here," he quickly supplied. "The man is behaving strangely, demanding to see her Majesty, but refusing to share what about. And, he led them here from the North." The Guardsman used his hand to gesture to the mountain range close to the castle. He saw a furrow appear on the blonde's forehead and before she could ask any questions, he went on. "We have them sequestered and under constant guard, and the only one to visit them apart from the people we've put to watch them was the White Princess, her husband and Red, although I think the Wolf was there only to stop Snow from sharing things she shouldn't."

The Savior hummed. "And, this mourning bit?"

"That is the ruse we used. The Queen is in mourning for you and that is why she couldn't meet with them."

The blonde blinked and opened her mouth, then closed them again, speechless. "That's actually good," she praised him after a moment. "So, they don't know she isn't here," the Savior murmured to herself, stepping back from the captain, placing her hands at the wall. "When did they arrive?"

"Yesterday morning."

"That's great!" She thumped the stone under her hand, and turning to Damian, she tilted her head in thought. "Alright, she is bringing some friends of ours, so you'll need to open the gate to the East. It would be good if you can get them in quietly, so that Robin and his band of Merry Morons isn't alerted, and if she agrees, after breakfast, we can make a whole production of it in the throne room."

Nodding, he felt his lips curl in a grin at the proposed plan, and he turned to leave. But, before he went, he looked back at her. "The children and Her Majesty's brother are in the Royal Chambers, Your Grace," he said softly, but she didn't move from her spot at the wall.

"I am under orders to wait for Her Majesty to see them together," the Savior said before she pushed from the wall. "But, there is someone else I can visit," she added, disappearing from view.

The promised half of an hour passed quickly, as the morning shift of his men, along with a few of the awake shifters led by their chief, prepared for the arrival of his monarch. However, despite the secrecy he had ordered from his men, the Charming couple found him at the East wall, curious about the excitement going through his men at the specks appearing in the fields of white. He didn't reply to their pestering questions, rather, he walked a bit away from them, taking a spot beside the chief shifter.

"Do you see her yet, Liam?" he asked the Wolf, unable to discern the features of the people approaching. Instead of verbally answering him, the shifter pointed the woman out, his silence bearing a mark of surprise. "What's wrong?"

"That's a Camelot banner," came the answer, but not from the shifter, rather from the White Princess, as the woman pointed out to a standard hanging of a pole, portraying a displayed red dragon in a field of black. "King Arthur's Guard," she spoke again, pointing to another standard, similar to the first, but at the top of it, in a blue stripe there was a gold crown. "Regina's black square," Snow added, quite pointlessly as they all knew their Majesty's banner. "I don't know what that last one is?" She turned to David, but he shook his head. However, he did have something to add.

"See that man, on the right, in purple, with the same colors on his shield?" the Charming spoke out, drawing the attention of the people around them. "Those are the personal colors of Percival the Virtuous." Awed gasps followed his exclamation, but Damian was mostly amused by Snow's widely gaping mouth.

"She is on the white horse," Liam finally spoke. "The Savior's Gallant is beside her, riderless," he added heavily, but his words had nothing to do with the blonde's absence, because he himself had told the Wolf that the Savior was, in fact, alive and in the castle. "That last flag?" he gestured to the cloth of black, interrupted by a thick horizontal stripe of red with a gold dragon passant. "That is of Tintagel, whose last living member is Morgana le Fey."

The Captain of the Guard was glad that his gasp of shock went unheard under the commotion the shifter's information provided. If the names of Percival and Arthur caused people to exclaim in awe and adulation, the name of Morgana le Fey caused the opposite reaction, and quite violent at that, as both Snow and David proved, flinching hard at the mention. To his satisfaction, neither he nor his men reacted outright to the name, knowing how legends and rumors could twist things, but one thing was quite undeniable. The exiled Queen of Camelot is a most formidable woman, and a quite skillful sorceress, and that alone demanded respect and perhaps, some healthy distance. But, Tintagel, on the other hand, was a name only heard in long forgotten legends and myths. A long dynasty of most powerful magical practitioners, who had been once rulers of the entire Enchanted Forest. He shook his head in amusement, chuckling, as he thought back to what the Savior had told him. Friends, indeed. In a quick stride, he came to the barred door and nodded to the men there.

"Open the gate," he ordered sharply, but careful not to let his voice carry. And, he was just in time, because as soon as the space was wide enough to let two horses abreast pass, his Queen entered the castle, followed by the most impressive entourage. The very second the last horse cleared the gate, he ordered it shut, and then he came to the white horse and her rider.

"Your Majesty," he said, bowing. "Welcome home."

---

As soon as the swirl of the magical mist dissipated, the warrior clad in white pressed the other woman against the nearest flat surface, which turned out to be the door to their quarters, not at all gentle in her actions. The startled moan from the impact was barely heard, too quickly swallowed by the ravenous blonde as her hands gripped and squeezed wherever she could reach, rumpling the fabric of the dress with her dexterous fingers and lifting the hem of it steadily.

Feeling the subtle cant of Regina's hips, as the brunette's arms wound around her shoulders, clutching helplessly at her back, Emma pulled a small distance away, smirking at the disappointed whimper the sudden space between the women caused. Standing firm against the strong pull of Regina's arms, the Sheriff quickly removed her belt, tossing it uncaringly aside. Then, with the aid of magic she divested herself of the tunic, sending it to the wardrobe in the corner, out of the way. Such a meaningful gift did not deserve to be damaged in a passion-fueled romp.

Now, as the tunic no longer restricted her moves, the Savior allowed her lover to bring them together, purposefully turning a bit to the side, so she could slide her thigh between Regina's, delighted by the sinful sigh her action caused. "How do you want it?" she murmured against Regina's neck, biting the taut tendons beneath her lips. Her only answer was the half-choked moan leaving the brunette's mouth, followed by a hard thump of the circlet against the wood of the door. "Like this, riding my leg?" the blonde whispered hotly. Undulating against the woman, placing pressure at the point radiating heat. "Or, do you want my fingers, deep inside you?" The Sheriff's smirk widened at the shudder passing through the other woman and hearing Regina moan deeply. "Ah," she murmured triumphantly, as she began to gather the dress up.

But, then, the brunette gathered her wits for a moment and grasped Emma's shoulders strongly. "Your mouth," she uttered in gasps, pressing the blonde down. "I want your mouth."

Wasting no time, Emma dropped to her knees and dove under the skirts of the dress, her hands gliding over Regina's thighs, her fingers sinking into the creases where the buttocks and legs connected, squeezing lightly before the questing digits went on. "Huh," Emma hummed, when the realization hit. The weave of the dress was too heavy to notice, but her beloved had not worn underwear, or she just wasn't wearing it now. But, before she could comment on it, an insistent hand pushed her head in, and obeying the silent demand, Emma licked her lips and got to work. For the ease of access, she lifted Regina's left leg and tossed it over her own shoulder, lightly biting the sensitive skin on the inside of the thigh, and her hands lifted the hem of the dress above Regina's hips, getting at least some of the air, before the strong palms landed squarely on Regina's ass, grasping the buttocks.

Despite the obvious readiness from the woman above her, the blonde didn't just dive in. No, first she gently licked the swollen lips, using her tongue to separate the folds from each other, before she found the already straining nub. Slowly running the wide surface of her tongue over it, Emma appreciated the taste spreading over her buds, humming. And, only when she felt another push on her head did she lean in, her enthusiastic response causing the brunette to react strongly. Her eager tongue brought the woman above her to completion quickly, the speed of it surprising both of them. But, even as Regina's hand eased up from the blonde's head, and the taut muscles of the thighs relaxed, Emma continued to voraciously devour the slit, only easing of the pulsating nub in deference to sensitivity and focusing her efforts on the still quivering ring of muscles at the entrance to the heated channel, slurping the juices dripping out of it. For the ease of access, she used her strength and tilted Regina's hips forward, placing the pressure on the woman's shoulders and shoulder blades. A soft murmured word filled with power provided additional stability for the brunette, and with that sorted, Emma lifted Regina's other leg, pressing it upwards to the brunette's belly with her widely splayed palm over the back of the upper thigh.

She didn't rush, but her pace was not too slow either. Emma was keeping her newly wedded wife balancing on the spectrum of coming too quickly and becoming frustrated by the insufficient stimulation. They weren't in any hurry, and Regina was enjoying it, so why not prolong it.

Emma didn't need to hear the woman's feverish moans and hastily murmured encouragement to know she was doing good, and, honestly, the dress was muffling too much of those sounds anyway. But, the Savior could read the body in her hands perfectly, timing her tongue movements with the twitching of the muscles. Only when her jaw started tightening with the awkward overuse, did she speed up, using her knowledge of Regina's preferences and weaknesses to bring the woman to an explosion, quite delighting in the splash of liquid spilling over her mouth and chin, soaking the front of the shirt she had on.

Quickly, she tossed the dress of her head and she looked up at the dazed expression on her lover's face. "We're not done," the Savior said in a gruff and firm voice, and slowly rose up, keeping Regina's left leg on her shoulder, but letting it slide down, so that the brunette's calf rested on Emma's shoulder. With her other hand she maneuvered Regina's right leg to rest on her hip, keeping it in place with her hand on the butt and elbow on the thigh. "Look at me," the blonde ordered softly, her tone bringing Regina's still glazed eyes in focus. "Arms around my neck," she added and the brunette instantly complied.

"Oh, Gods," the brunette murmured as the move added a bit of strain to her hamstring, leaving her exposed to the air of the room, as the dress was cinched around her hips.

"You good?" came the soft murmur, when the blonde nuzzled gently into Regina's neck, biting it when the woman failed to reply.

"Yeah," Regina gasped before moaning at the sucking kiss right behind her ear she got as a reward.

The blonde lifted her head and proudly watched as the hickey bloomed on Regina's already flushed skin. Then, she focused again on the woman's eyes, bringing her right hand to her wife's slit, using her fingers to slide through the wetness, careful not to touch the clit or to dip further into the heat. "Eyes on me," she said firmly, not stopping with the motion of her hand. "You look away, I stop. You close your eyes, I stop."

Her dominant posture and voice seemed to cause a bigger reaction in the brunette, the words themselves causing a shuddering gasp out of the woman. And, when she gently pressed a finger into her already swollen entrance, the brunette let out a long and deep moan, not looking away. "Another," she murmured, pleadingly. "I need another."

"In a minute," Emma replied, repeating the motion a few more times before she allowed a second finger to join the first. She entered the moist heat slowly, going as deep as she could, before pulling out almost completely. Then, after doing the same for several more times, she added a bit of a twist to her moves, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable position it forced on her wrist. Her lover was enjoying it, and for it, Emma would have suffered a lot more.

Watching the brunette struggle with her breaths, as her heaving chest had limited space to expand, all the while she kept her eyes open and pinned to Emma's, it brought a deeper level of connection to them, and the Savior had to fight against her own magic trying to initiate the meld.

Adding the third finger drew a deep groan out of the brunette, and she almost forgot the Sheriff's demand to keep her eyes closed. But, the threat of stopping seemed to be enough to keep her in line, and after a brief second, Regina's lids lifted. "Oh, Em-ma," she gasped, her voice breaking almost immediately.

"How tight you are," Emma murmured. "Can you feel them stretching you?" Just as she asked, she spread her fingers while still inside. Regina didn't speak, but her fingers clenched tightly into fists, tugging at the hair at the blonde's nape. "Harder?"

"Yes," came the immediate hiss, followed by a stuttered moan that quickly turned into high-pitched yelps at the power Emma started using. Feeling the fluttering of Regina's inner muscles, Emma shifted her hips to the small degree, providing a bit more leverage to her moves.

With the added force, the blonde knew Regina would finish soon. And, speeding up a bit and sliding the heel of her palm over the woman's swollen nub on every down stroke guaranteed it would be an explosive event.

---

Regina lost control over the whole of her body, slumping onto her lover's firm frame and sinking into a blissful space where she was an unresponsive mass of flesh but still holding onto the awareness of the world around her. It wasn't really a surprise, with the fervor the Savior had brought to their joining, but it still rankled Regina a bit. She had lost count of the number of peaks Emma had managed to wring out of her in rapid succession, each one further helping her bones and muscles dissolve into nothingness, and she needed a long moment to recover and gather her wits before she could enact her revenge.

Strong, gentle hands guided her head to the shoulder before she was released from whatever magical hold had been on her, and she was lifted into air with her whole weight lovingly cradled in her wife's arms, which then almost effortlessly carried her to the bed, where she was lowered with mindful tenderness, the expected jostle of landing on the mattress absent with the smoothness of transfer. A soft murmur of enchantment followed, and the constraint of her dress and boots disappeared, leaving her still flushed and sweat-doused skin to the open air for a short moment before she was caringly wrapped in a light sheet. Then, loving lips pressed against her own in a chaste manner before the bed shifted with the weight coming off of it, the absence causing Regina to hum in protest.

"A bit of patience, my Heart," her beloved whispered, standing nearby, the amusement in her tone prompting Regina to slowly open her eyes and gaze upon the Sheriff as the woman moved around the room. She watched as the blonde tended to the fire, crouching in front of the heart and moving in such a habitual economy as if she had done it a thousand times before. Then, the blonde rose up and walked over to the table, pouring water into a wooden cup and drinking it in big and fast swallows.

"Thirsty?" Regina murmured, aiming for a bit of sultriness in her teasing but her abused throat provided her with a rough raspiness.

Emma chuckled and poured the water once more, bringing the cup to the bed, all the while smirking at the brunette's voice and the damage it suffered, but as the cup was extended to her, Regina noticed the slight trembles of Emma's arm. "Dying, actually," the Sheriff responded, her own voice deep and husky, and the brunette believed it fully, looking into her beloved's eyes, darkened with passion that only a small ring of green remained in them.

Before taking the offered cup, Regina raised her body up and leaned against the pillows, making herself comfortable. "I could help with that," she offered coyly, glancing at the blonde over the rim of the cup.

"Could you?" Emma stood beside the bed, her arms crossed, and the brunette knew it was to keep the blonde from visibly shaking and reaching out to her.

"But, you are terribly overdressed," Regina added, in a faux mournful tone as she fiddled with the sheet.

"That is easily solved," Emma replied, and only a second later, a tendril of bluish white mist swirled around the Savior, engulfing her in magic. When it cleared, the blonde was standing there, naked.

"So, I see," Regina murmured before she drank the water, sending the cup carelessly away in a small cloud of purple before she extended her left arm toward her wife, her betrothing bracelet shining in the low light of the room. "Come to me," she ordered, removing the sheet covering her.

As the bed dipped under the Savior's weight, Regina surged forward and in a swift move, tossed the younger woman onto her back, delighting in the surprised grunt that left the blonde's mouth. "I still owe you for the bath last night," she murmured, holding herself up over the blonde, keeping a tight grasp on the blonde's arms and pressing them into the pillows above Emma's head; before she dove in, kissing Emma in hard, demanding strokes that quickly stole their breaths.

Lifting her head for a moment, the brunette looked over her lover's passion-dazed face, her lips twisting into a satisfied smirk when Emma blinked slowly, uncovering her hazy eyes. "You with me?" she chuckled, stradling the blonde's hips as her hands caressed Emma's neck, collarbone and chest, having used her magic to keep Emma's hands in place.

"Always," the blonde said breathlessly before a startled hiss passed her lips when Regina twisted the aroused peaks of her breasts.

"I am in a mood for slow and thorough," the brunette spoke out menacingly, her eyes glinting at the blonde's disappointed huff. "You don't mind, do you?" she added, laughing out as Emma slumped down with a grunt.

Despite her threat, Regina didn't really want to torture her beloved on their wedding night, and not after Emma had been so good to bring her rapture only minutes before. However, a bit of light foreplay never killed anyone. With her hands on Emma's ribcage, her thumbs idly caressing the underside of the blonde's breasts, Regina leaned down, letting her hair fall over, no doubt, highly sensitized skin, slowly lowering her head down until she found Emma's neck and that sweet spot below the joint of the jaw with her lips. And, for the next several minutes she left her mark on the blonde's collarbone and neck, knowing that the red traces of her attention, though numerous, would not last more than minutes at the most. Pleased with her work, she moved a bit lower, her lips gently wrapping around an aroused nipple. The captive blonde, who up to now would only sigh in pleasure as various hickeys were placed on the erogenous spots, moaned deeply, pushing out her chest a bit, her breath leaving her in a shuddering gasp when Regina moved over to the other nub, pulling on the moist one with her fingers at the same time.

"Regina," the blonde whimpered softly, tugging her arms against the restraint. "Please, my hands."

"Not yet," the brunette replied, both of her palms gliding over the mounds of flesh and squeezing them. "I am not done," she said, shifting a bit down and letting her hair slide over Emma's defined belly before she flicked it out of the way. "I do love the way your muscles dance under your skin," she murmured against one of the clearly demarcated abs, before she grazed it with her teeth. Then, in a fit of mischievousness, she found a spot on Emma's side, right below the ribs and pressing her lips there, she blew a raspberry quite loudly, ready for the violent reaction of the bucking body below her.

Letting out an exhilarated cackle at Emma's indignant swearing, Regina rose up onto her knees and gently moved in between Emma's legs, her hands resting on the blonde's slightly raised knees, feeling the continuous trembles passing through the Savior's body. Maybe she had pushed her beloved a little too far, she realized; using her palms to soothingly glide over the feverish skin of the blonde's thighs, all the while she spread them wider, putting them in position for ease of access. She paused for a second, waiting for those dark desire-blown eyes to meet her own before she settled down immediately letting her tongue and lips explore and devour the sopping cleft between Emma's legs.

Hearing the relieved moan above her, she didn't waste time getting her fingers to work, using all the tricks and familiarity with her wife's body to bring the blonde some brief satisfaction to ease the sharp edge of arousal that had built up, both during the previous hours and now.

However, after two orgasms, one rapidly following the other, the resulting relief did nothing to reduce Emma's ardor and need. "Regina," she gasped, caught in the burn of her passion, not at all helped by being somewhat distracted in effort to stop her own magic from lashing out on the area around her. "More," she uttered breathlessly, struggling against the bond holding her down, but still choosing not to break it. "I need more."

"More?" Regina glanced down to the three fingers already deep inside the blonde, furiously pistoning in and out, and nodded in understanding.

"Fill me!" the blonde insisted when Regina hesitated over her next course of action, her voice breaking on the second word due to nimble digits leaving her.

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

Knowing now what to do, the brunette sat back and with a thought released the magic that held Emma's hands. At the same time she focused on the spell Emma had used only several days before with great success, using her imagination to shape her body into what was needed. "Like this?" she asked softly, finding Emma's eyes as she held her newly formed appendage to the blonde's wet entrance. "You don't want some other position-" she tried to add, but the Sheriff let out a sharp grunt, used her abdominal muscles to lift her upper body up and wrapping her arm around Regina's back while her other hand went to the enhanced clit, guiding it, she pulled onto the brunette in a quick snap, groaning in bliss when she felt herself filled deeper than before.

"Emma!" Regina hissed in reprimand when the blood-searing intensity of tight warmth engulfing her eased a bit, letting her hips rest on the blonde's as she waited a moment for the other woman to get used to the intrusion. "I didn't lubricate."

"No need," Emma replied with a chuckle, bringing her hand to Regina's face, palming her cheek with tenderness Regina didn't expect from her in this state. "Just like this," the blonde added, answering Regina's previous question, pulling the woman down into a gentle kiss. "Now, move," Emma ordered, wrapping her legs around the older woman's hips.

---

Leaving her lover dozing in their thoroughly debauched bed, Regina stretched her back and, naked and sweaty, wincing from all the twinges of overused muscles and tendons, walked into the washroom and lit the oil bowls with an absent wave of her hand, squinting in the weak light they provided. First, she needed to relieve herself and then… Well, a bath sounded like a good idea. So, going about her business, the brunette ducked into the farthest chamber and when she was done, she took interest in the stuffed shelving holding all the needed products for her intentions, her nimble fingers searching through the bottles, jars and vials for what she wanted. With her new teachings, Regina had the thorough grounding in tinctures, lotions and oils, and considering that she wanted a both restorative and relaxing bath, she looked through the available ingredients, hesitating over what specific blend she could make. And, then, her eyes fell to a small jar placed at the closest edge to the door, several cloth satchels inside. Intrigued, she opened the jar, and when the scent wafted out of it, she hummed in victory. Regina recognized the scent of the special mixture Gwen had prepared for Emma's surprise of pampering night. Taking one of the satchels, she closed the jar and tossed the small bag into the empty pool, using her magic to open the spivots and plug the drain. As the sound of rushing water filled the air, Regina gathered the towels, soaps and hair potions, setting them by the edge of the filling pool.

When the bath was ready, she slowly sunk into the water, moaning at the heat gliding over her skin until it swallowed her whole. Keeping herself under the surface for as long as she could, she immediately felt the beneficial effects of the bath mixture, and when the tightness in her lungs became painful, she rose a bit up, just enough for her face to leave the water, and taking a deep breath, she leaned against one of the walls of the pool and closed her eyes, feeling all her muscles relax in the heat of the water. After a long minute she went through her ablutions quickly before she again relaxed in the magically reheating bath.

Emma had been insatiable, Regina thought back with a tired smirk. Almost manic in her desire, demanding more with each new climax, her magic swirling around her without direction. Regina hadn't been able to keep up with the ravenous blonde, necessitating the change in the approach. With some focused magic, the sorceress had changed the spell that had given her the extra appendage, making it much less sensitive but still feeling everything, but a bit distant. And, then after failing to completely satisfy the blonde's unquenchable ardor, somewhere around Emma's fourth but insufficient orgasm, something in Regina had snapped. Suddenly, a part of her that had been buried deep down, had surfaced, bringing along all of her ruthless possessiveness and dominance. Using her magic where needed, the former Evil Queen had bound Emma in the position she had wanted and had set forth a punishing rhythm, relentlessly claiming her wife in all the ways.

"Well, don't you look pleased," came the hoarse whisper from the door to the bathroom, and Regina's smirk turned wider, becoming a lovely smile before she opened her eyes and looked at the blonde leaning against the frame of the door.

Taking in the state of her wife, Regina felt her face split into a smug grin. The ordinarily strong and steady woman was resting most of her weight on the frame, and even with the help, her legs were trembling with the effort to keep her upright. But, beyond the apparent weakness, Emma looked thoroughly ravished, her pale skin covered in finger shaped bruises and hickeys, her hair a fright but somehow the braids twining around her head still remained, although frayed and with some loss of shape. "Should I not be?" she asked as she motioned to the woman to join her in the bath, and then watched as the blonde shuffled over. Even though she was feeling quite triumphant and proud of her efforts, she was ready to help should her lover stumble on her way to the pool.

"Oh, God, this is perfect," Emma groaned in pleasure as she slowly lowered herself into the still steaming water. "I feel like the whole herd of Unicorns trampled over me," she added quietly, treading the water towards her lover, before she gently lowered her forehead onto Regina's shoulder, sighing in content when the older woman pulled her into a loving hold. "You worked me good," she mumbled into the neck presented to her, then hummed softly as she relaxed into her lover's arms and closed her eyes.

Despite Emma's obvious contentment and gratification, Regina had to ask. "Would you be down for a repeat?"

"Oh, yeah," came the immediate answer. "Definitely." A small nibble on the side of Regina's neck followed the word. "But not now. You've fucked me so thoroughly that even my Unicorn-blood fueled magic needs a bit of time to recover."

"Not now," Regina agreed full-heartedly. "I don't think I can move without feeling my true age." When her words were followed only by a soft grunt and scolding pinch on her side, the brunette lowered her chin and kissed Emma's forehead, bringing her hand into the blonde's waterlogged tresses, stopping her movement when her finger snagged on a large tangled knot. Taking a look over her lover's head, she sighed. "Turn around," she gently instructed the half-dozing Savior. When the blonde obeyed, Regina took great care to untwine the plaits before she started running her fingers through Emma's hair, gently detangling it, lock by lock. Her careful ministrations were somewhat hampered by the water, but she didn't mind the extra work, especially when her fingers would rub the blonde's scalp, bringing out gasps and moans out of the woman. At some point, she had to use magic to stop Emma from sinking under the surface when she accidentally caught a sensitive patch of skin at the back of the head with her fingernails; and when she was done, she gently pulled the blonde to lean against her, simply enjoying the heated and relaxing bath, resting her chin on Emma's shoulder.

"You were worried," the blonde spoke quietly after a period of silence. "About what happened?"

"Not worried," Regina quickly denied, wrapping her arms around her wife. "Concerned, perhaps." When Emma's hand squeezed hers, she sighed. "We never did have a conversation about our limits."

Emma turned around in Regina's arms, and placed her own on the brunette's shoulders, her fingers gently caressing the woman's nape. "Everything you did was and is welcomed and enjoyed," the blonde assured firmly, looking into Regina's eyes. "There are also the facts that we are able to communicate on so many levels and trust each other completely. But, we can have the conversation now, hash it out, for future instances." She leaned in and pressed her lips against the brunette's, before catching the plump lower lip between her teeth gently. With a small nip, she lifted her head. "I don't think we're a type to use safe words without them leading us into ridiculous situations." Feeling the slight shudder pass through Regina's shoulders, Emma knew her wife agreed.

"So, traffic lights, then?" Regina considered quietly, as her hands roamed Emma's back.

The blonde hummed in agreement, before she placed another kiss on the woman's lips. "Darkness is a pretty big thing for me, still, but I found ways around it," Emma spoke and using her fingers to delicately tilt Regina's head a bit to the side, she brought her nose to the heated skin. "Your scent is incredibly soothing," she added in a half-whisper. "Despite the gunk in the bath, I can still smell it on you." With another deep breath in, Emma closed her eyes and sighed in content.

"You already know what could be a problem for me, Emma," Regina spoke when Emma lifted her head. "And, I am not eager to revisit the brutality and humiliation I bestowed on my bedfellows in the days of the Evil Queen. Apart from that, I am open to exploration." Stopping Emma from adding an obviously inane and lewd comment with another kiss, the brunette hummed in pleasure before she continued speaking. "But, bear in mind, with the way my magic, and yours, have progressed, the limit is not as hard as it would be in the World without Magic." Sharing a look with her beloved, she added. "Just like with you."

"Because, I can use Magic to see and feel around me."

"Exactly." Just after she said the word, Regina's mouth was taken, and she found herself pinned to the edge of the bath pool, Emma's hands digging into her hair. Not willing to be passive in this make out, the brunette quickly slipped out from Emma's hold and turned around, pressing into the Sheriff's back and consequently, pushing Emma into the stone edge of the pool. "Feeling better, I see," she commented, removing the drenched blonde tresses of Emma's neck before she leaned in and kissed it, keeping her mouth firmly closed, not willing to taste the gunk as Emma had so succinctly called it. But, before she could do anything else, a small rumble was heard, and felt under Regina's hand on Emma's belly. "It seems your body is hungry for something else," she said with a chuckle, and stepped away, using her magic to unplug the pool. Then, she pointed Emma to the soap and shampoo as she got out of the draining water, wrapping herself in one of the towels she had prepared. "I'll get the food plated."

---

The brunette rummaged around the dishes on the table, dressed only in Emma's white silk shirt she had worn under the tunic, the soft fabric reaching just under the buttocks. Obviously naked underneath, as the little peeks of flesh showed whenever the woman leaned over the table, Emma noted with an amused interest. The long legs gleamed in the firelight coming from the hearth, and occasionally, the calve muscles would visibly shift as the brunette moved to the side. The dark hair, although dry, was falling down Regina's shoulders in unruly curls, giving it volume and wildness, further enhancing the woman's breathtaking and appealing look.

My God, she was sex incarnate, the Savior thought as she just stood there, watching. But, it wasn't just the carnal pleasure that radiated off the woman, Emma noted, taking in the slight, almost dancing, shuffle, accompanied with a soft hum of an unrecognizable melody. The impish smile curling the lips, the sparkles in the warm eyes… Regina was happy and it was bursting out from her.

"If you are done staring, come eat," the brunette spoke up, not looking away from the plates she had arranged, startling Emma out of her appreciating gaze.

"I am not staring," the blonde objected in a feigned huff, walking over to her wife, a light robe covering her body. "I am… admiring." When she stood in front of the brunette, Emma brought the woman into her arms, keeping the embrace loose. "You are," she said, tilting her head toward her wife, peering into the still glittering caramel eyes. "Looking the most beautiful I've ever seen you," Emma marveled in a soft voice that turned slightly coarse at the end.

Regina smiled at the words before the odd tone of them drew her attention. "Why do you sound sad about it?" she asked gently, her hands going to Emma's face. But, when the blonde sighed, hesitating to answer, the brunette connected their foreheads, letting the other woman speak, or not speak, in her own time. And, indeed, her acceptance was rewarded.

"Because, it's your happiness that adds to your beauty, Chridhe," Emma replied quietly. "And, all too soon, this bubble will burst," the soft whisper followed, mourning the eventual end of their little vacation from reality.

With a soft sigh, Regina pulled her head away, biting her upper lip and nodded several times, slowly. "That's true," she agreed softly, still keeping hold of Emma's cheeks. "But, we'll go be with our children for a while, and as much as I appreciate this intermission, I miss them." A soft smile pulled on her lips as she brought the blonde's face closer. "And, there are several friends that are eager to see you." Then, Regina brought their heads together. "But, we have a little bit more time, and let's get the most out of it." With her thumbs, she caressed the blonde's cheeks, the rest of her fingers lightly scratching the sensitive skin behind the ears. "For tonight, it's just you and I. Okay?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed before she kissed the brunette, her mood chased away by the beautiful brunette, but once more they were interrupted by the Savior's insistent stomach. At Regina's chuckle, the blonde murmured a soft 'sorry' before she took seat at the table and dove into the meal the other woman had set out for them.

She ate quickly, not even tasting the food, her gaze pinned to the vision in front of her, her eyes darting to the teasing edges of the shirt. Keeping her seat while Regina partook of the meal, Emma poured herself some of the Sudd Egnì while she waited. But, as soon as the woman beside her lowered her utensils and drained the cup by her plate, the blonde rose to her feet and dragged the brunette to the bed, her insistent force making Regina laugh in loud guffaws, that quickly changed into a startled moan when the Sheriff attacked her with devouring kisses.

The robe keeping Emma's modesty disappeared, and she divested the shirt of her wife so fast that perhaps some of the stitches tore, so when she pressed her body to Regina's, they were both naked. As brunette's arms wound around her, gliding over her back, she rose to her elbows and pushed her hips down, letting their moist clefts connect. However, due to their previous activities, the blonde knew that part of Regina's anatomy was still too sensitive for direct stimulation, which a grimace of uncomfort stealing over the brunette's face proved. So, instead of rubbing them together, she pulled her knees up, shifting her wife's arms to wrap around her neck and using her strong core, she lifted Regina into her arms as she straightened into sitting on her heels with her knees akimbo.

"Oh, God, Emma," Regina moaned as nimble digits entered her from behind while a knuckle teased her rosebud. With her legs around Emma's hips, and with the blonde's legs widely open, the brunette could sink onto the fingers with ease. She brought her palms into the blonde tresses, tangling her fingers into the long locks at the nape, pulling Emma's head up and kissing her breathlessly. "More," she begged, as she tilted her pelvis, chasing the pleasure.

The Sheriff chuckled, using her free hand to gently slap the soft bottom, before she leaned down and caught a nipple into her mouth, nibbling on it, enjoying the pull of hands fisting in her hair. With what she had in mind, things needed to progress slowly and she was in no hurry, ignoring Regina's urging to get on with it. Her shallow thrusts with her left hand were enough to provide pleasure but it didn't allow for the woman to tip over. Her right palm roamed over Regina's back and neck, going from soft caress to a firm hold intermittently, all the while she listened to her wife's symphony of sighs, moans and gasps, with her name spoken so brokenly.

While her hands were busy, she used her mouth to pleasure the brunette's breasts and skin around them, using tongue, lips and teeth to bestow attention on them, occasionally leaving shallow marks. Sometimes, she would allow the hands in her hair to guide her, especially when Regina wanted to look into her eyes, or to kiss her. Then, her eyes would fall on the beautiful sight above her. Soft, bruised lips, parted as ragged breath passed over them; a teasing, quick, tongue darting over them to spread moisture or to chase her own taste upon those lips. Flushed olive skin gleaming with radiance and sweat. But, what held most of Emma's attention were the half-lidded eyes, burning so deeply, the hunger in them almost overtaking everything else, but there, in the dark chocolate, she could see love and pleasure shining, the wonder of it making Emma burn as well. "The Majesty of your Love," the Savior whispered, her words coming out in old Elvish, colored by all emotions that were swirling in her. "Enveloped in the heat of your Pleasure," she continued, rejoicing at her wife's gasps and shudders that followed her voice, further enhanced by the continuous motion of her left hand. "Has blinded me to the glory of the worlds," Emma said in a quiet, raspy voice as tears filled her eyes. Despite the added ecstasy of the magical language tingling over her body and the emotional resonance behind them pulling on her heart, Regina found in her the will to release her fist from Emma's hair and she brought her fingers to the blonde's lips, caressing them in awe while the woman still spoke. "For there is no beauty and grace without you."

"Mo Ghradh," the brunette gasped, unable to add anything else, as her own eyes teared up.

It was rare that Regina was the one without words, and the silence between them was becoming too heavy for what they were currently engaged in, so the blonde used her tongue and lips to capture the adroit digits, sucking on them for a moment before releasing them. "I'll do my best," she said, a grin spreading across her face, "to be the best wife you'll ever have."

The brunette's startled reaction came quickly in the form of a gentle slap on the blonde's shoulder and an exasperated cry of her name. When the Sheriff chuckled in response, the Queen teasingly bit her on the nose. "You want to be the best?" she asked pointedly, waiting for the blonde to nod. "Then stop torturing me and take me!" Pulling on the woman's hair, Regina connected their eyes. "Take me and claim me and erase everyone before you for there will be none after."

"Regina," Emma started, but a sharp tug tilting her head upwards shut her up.

"Even in Death, Emma," Regina asserted firmly. "Our bond will not be broken." Seeing the Sheriff sigh in surrender, she kissed the woman. "Now, do as you are told, Swan, and take me!" she demanded and bore down onto Emma's fingers, a soft moan escaping her when the move forced her cheeks wider apart, and pushed another finger inside.

Going on with her plan for the evening, the Savior called upon her magic, bringing a small bottle of oil and a large towel from the washroom. Finding Regina's eyes once more, she slowly removed her left hand, letting the drenched fingers pass over the puckered entrance, while she watched for the brunette's reaction. As the woman hummed with interest, Emma got the confirmation she needed, shifting slightly so the two women would be over the folded terry cloth. Using both of her hands, she spread the cheeks wider, giving her more space, and with magic, she poured dollops of oil over the crack, the previously used fingers rubbing it over the crinkled entrance. Slowly, after both the forefinger and the rosebud were thoroughly covered in lubrication, Emma pressed in, letting her digit enter for millimeters only, before she took it out and added another drop of oil. With every new millimeter gained, she would repeat the process, press in slowly, stay for a moment before taking it out and pouring more oil. And, deeper she went, the soft hums of approval from the brunette turned stronger and stronger, until, when she pressed in almost the whole length of her finger, a deliciously salacious moan passed those plump lips.

With patience, Emma worked on the entrance, twisting her finger and pressing it in with differing angles, until she could enter with two. As soon as she sheathed them to the last knuckles, Regina let out a sigh. "So good," she murmured into Emma's ear, before she took the soft part of it between her teeth and gently bit it.

With that encouragement, the blonde set out the rhythm, following a beat in her head, while her other hand traveled to Regina's front, caressing the dripping folds but not putting any relieving pressure on clit or other sensitive areas. Guided by the sounds leaving her wife, she added some power to her thrusts, aided by Regina's hips bearing down every time she would push in. "Is this enough?" she asked, without pausing her movements. "Can you cum like this?"

"I need more," the brunette uttered between her gasps for air, one of her hands digging into Emma's shoulder. "Please," she begged as she chased that razor edge of pleasure. "Please."

The position they were in was not conducive to some more experimentation with that entrance, and Emma wasn't willing to risk any injury or unintended pain to her lover, and changing positions now would only disrupt the flow they had going, so she changed her tactics. "Shift up a bit," she instructed the brunette and the woman obeyed instantly, placing her elbows on the blonde's shoulders, pushing her breasts into Emma's face, who delighted on such an easy access to the undulating boobs, and with Emma's help, she bent her legs under her for the added mobility. With the added room, instead of just gently caressing the labias with her right hand, she began to play with the clitoris and the pussy entrance, slowly ratcheting the intensity of her touch, all the while she kept the certain beat with her left hand, despite the fact that the slight change of position put an uncomfortable twist to her wrist.

After several minutes, Emma was pounding hard at both entrances, using steady thrusts and the two fingers to the back entrance, while she slightly alternated with her right hand, sometimes entering at the counterpoint to her other hand, and sometimes in concert with it, also with only two fingers and using her thumb to occasionally rub circles around the straining nub at the front. However, it seemed that the brunette's pleasure stalled for a moment, the frustration rising with every minute passing. So, the blonde carefully added another finger, thrusting into the dripping pussy with the added girth and it seemed to help exponentially.

And, when Emma added soft bites to the pert nipples jiggling in front of her mouth, Regina couldn't contain herself anymore, her sinful moans turning into sharp pitched keening and a few moments later, she shattered completely with a scream of Emma's name upon her lips.

---

It was strange, Regina thought as she took one last look over the room, seeing all the spots where she and Emma had shared beautiful moments between them. Even though she was more than happy to go, she was going to miss this place, and it's safe comfort. They were leaving, returning to the ravaged lands menaced by the collage of enemies gathered by her own sister, and although the sanctuary this small realm provided called to her, both she and Emma were needed on the outside. Speaking of Emma… The brunette placed herself by the magically doused fireplace, still warm and smoking, and with her elbows against the mantel, she watched the blonde woman dress, the slow and methodical way of putting the clothes on bordering on ceremonial. This was no longer Emma, her wife; but someone else. Something else. And, when the blonde stood in front of her, dressed in her white leathers, the etched sigil proudly displayed on her chest, Regina swallowed hard. The Sheriff of the Enchanted Forest was back, and for a moment, the brunette feared that her Emma was buried deeply under it, but at the very second her trepidation managed to show, the other woman approached her with a spring in her step, humming something under her breath as she fiddled with the ties to the bracer.

"Help me with this, would you, Chridhe?" Emma requested quietly, offering her right forearm to the brunette. Grabbing the forearm, Regina speedily fastened the strings on the protective cuff, expecting to see distraction in her wife's eyes. Instead, she found the green orbs steadily looking her over, the glint in them causing blood to rush to Regina's cheeks and a tight warmth to settle low in her belly. "Haven't seen you in black for a while," the blonde murmured softly, her free arm going around Regina's back, and when suddenly nerveless fingers dropped it, her other arm quickly joined the first before sliding to teasingly pat the leather encased behind. "And, these are very thought-provoking on you," she added in a suggestive whisper. The brunette felt herself being gently pulled into a loving embrace, before insistent lips found her own. As soon as the blonde managed to wring out a breathless moan out of her, Emma lifted her head a bit and peered into the dazed eyes of her lover. "I am still here," she offered softly.

Regina's breath hitched, and then she let out a drown out sigh. "I know." She should have known that the woman would notice the slight drop in her mood. Breaking the embrace her wife had her in, she sought to change the subject. "Anyway," she said, a bit cheerier than earlier. "I have something for you," she added, pulling a thin chain out of somewhere, placing it in Emma's outstretched hand. "It's for the rings," she needlessly explained, her empty hand going to her left arm, fingers tracing the metal weave on her wrist. The blonde looked at the necklace in her palm, her eyes getting a bit of a shine, before she blinked quickly several times and in a matter of seconds, her engagement and wedding ring were off her finger and on the chain. "The lock," Regina started, when the blonde turned around, offering her the ends of the chain to close behind her. "It will not open, unless you tell it to," she spoke as she closed the clatch, and murmuring a phrase in Elvish, she let the chain rest on Emma's neck, removing the hair out of the way. Then, she pressed a kiss on the revealed skin there and lowered the hair in place. "We should go." Dressed in the same clothes she had worn on the day she had come to Brocéliande, Regina didn't have much in the way of luggage, choosing to bring with her only her wedding dress and cloak, along with the assorted jewelry she had worn the night before, all neatly packed in a cloth satchel with the carefully copied pages upon pages of information they had gathered.

Emma, on the other hand, had been fully kitted out by the tailor, most of which she was currently wearing. The rest of it, along with the more extravagant pieces of her bonding attire, including the bonding sash, she had stuffed in the saddle bag. And, finally, the blonde started putting on her weaponry. Her new sword was affixed on her back, right beside the quiver she had placed only a minute before. Then, the gifted daggers were slotted in their places, and Emma reached for the bow leaning against the wall by the door, where she had left it days before. However, before they left the room, Emma took her old, broken blade, citing sentimental value, and with it and her thick, black cape in one arm, bow in the other and a full saddlebag tossed over her shoulder, she was ready to leave, as well.

"I am going to miss this place," the blonde murmured, as she closed the door behind her, echoing Regina's earlier thoughts.

"It served its purpose," Regina replied apathetically, but the grin and the side glance told her that the Sheriff wasn't fooled by her apparent lack of caring. "You hummed something earlier?" Regina abruptly asked, as they climbed the stairs.

"Yeah," Emma uttered, her brows scrunching. "A song has been stuck in my head the whole night," she explained with some annoyance, before she cut eyes at the brunette by her side. "Actually, I think it's your fault for that."

"What? My?" Regina shook her head. "What song?" The blonde, instead of replying, sent a magical pulse and suddenly, the former Evil Queen could hear the song, the solid beat pounding in her ears, while Rihanna sang about being the only girl in the world. With the familiar rhythm echoing in her mind, Regina froze mid step, feeling the blood rush to the surface. "Well," she croaked through the strong evocation of the previous night's activities, her mind immediately going to the new thing they had done. "You are the only one who knows my heart." At the half hearted glare pointed in her direction, she cleared her throat. "Any particular reason why that song?"

"You said something that seemed similar to the lyrics," Emma grudgingly replied.

"How is it my fault that your brain works hard to provide you with the soundtracks?" Regina asked, her tone turning snide at the end. Then, placing a hand on her hip, she grinned, her voice full of sass. "And, there is nothing wrong with RiRi. It's a much better choice than Enya."

"Oh, whatever!"

Regina chuckled at her wife's grumbles, and linking her elbow with Emma's, she leaned in, matching the woman's steps as they walked up the stairs to the ground floor of the House of Healing, perhaps for the last time in a long while. "There's one other thing I have to do before we go," she said quietly, stopping the blonde from opening the entrance door. The Sheriff looked at her, her gaze piercing in its intensity, but despite all the curiosity, she didn't ask. However, in lieu of a verbal answer, Regina lowered her gloved hand onto the surface of the bracer, her fingers tracing the picture.

"Taking Spirit?" were the only words the Savior spoke, and Regina nodded in confirmation, prompting her to speak again. "Company?"

"No," Regina replied firmly, her tone quiet but strong, while she kept their eyes connected. This one, she had to do alone, and she would most likely need her privacy afterwards.

Emma bit the inside of her cheek. "Okay," she said in a sigh. "I'll get us ready, then." She placed her hand onto the wood of the door, but it moved before she could push, the strong gust of freezing air blowing in as it opened wider, the now-former Queen of Camelot venturing inside.

"Oh, you're up," Morgan exclaimed happily. "Wonderful. Regina, I hope you don't mind, but I instructed Percival to use my tack for your Gallant. Everything fits him perfectly and he is ready for you." The Lady of the House of Healing then turned to the Sheriff and smiled. "I have hoped for a moment of your time, if you wouldn't mind."

Regina, glad for the unexpected distraction, leaned in to kiss Emma's cheek, whispered that she would be back as soon as possible and, squeezing by the black woman, she exited the Marble Palace. As promised, her white Gallant stood, tacked and ready at the bottom of the stairs, the reins held by a youngish soldier. As she approached them, he saw her, he immediately bowed and offered to help her into the saddle, giving her the reins when she politely refused his assistance, and with a quiet greeting to her steed, she was away.

---

Watching the brunette escape, Emma nodded to the sorceress. "That's fine." Shaking off her consternation, the blonde fully focused on their hostess, setting the things in her hands down by the door. "You have my attention."

"Can you join me in my quarters?" Morgan asked, and with the blonde's acquiescence, she took them there, taking a seat at the very same table from several days before. Having poured them drinks from a jug at the table, she placed one of the cups in front of Emma and the sharp and refreshing scent of Sudd Egnì filled the air. "You surprised me, you know?" the older woman began. "When Guardian said the Savior was coming, I was expecting someone different. I don't know what I was looking for, exactly but…" The kind eyes crinkled in amusement as they watched Emma. "Then, when it seemed that we would lose you, I had given up hope. That there would be brighter days, or that this world was even worth saving."

"I survived," Emma murmured over the rim of her cup.

"But, you didn't." Morgan didn't give the blonde time to respond to that. "I watched the girl pull your spirit from beyond and bring you back to life," the sorceress carried on, her earnestness obvious in her melodious voice, and Emma had to smirk at her older lover being referred to as a girl. "That moment alone changed my mind about the fate of this world and my role in it."

"The Temple," Emma let out with surprise. "That's when you decided to take Regina there."

"Yes." The dark skinned woman placed her wrists against the edge of the table, her hands wrapped around the cup, her back straightening and a barely detectable tenseness filled her body. "I made a promise to Henry that I would teach her, but even as she walked through my borders I feared that giving the Evil Queen even more power and on the eve of your demise would spell utter disaster." Emma watched the woman, listening patiently as she sipped her drink. It was a reasonable fear, the blonde thought. Unfounded, but still. When she didn't jump in to defend her wife, but only nodded, with a small crinkle forming over her brows, Morgan's somewhat rigid form relaxed, and the older woman sighed. "Seeing the love she has for you and your children eased my mind. And, there was the fact that you as well had to learn new things about magic for your own tasks. Guardian was insistent."

Emma chuckled, knowing how shrewd her mentor could be. "If this is about my reaction to what took place in the Temple, there is really no need to rehash it again," the blonde spoke up, leaning towards the deposed queen. "And, if it is about the wards, I-"

"You don't understand, Emma," her host interrupted her gently, her hand landing in the space between them on the table. "It is about all of that, but I am not angry about it. Nor disappointed." Emma blinked and closed her mouth, her head tilting to the side. "I am relieved." Morgan reached for Emma's arm, her palm placed over the glove-covered hand. "I always knew that my connection to the wards was tenuous at best, and I knew that if nothing was done, Brocéliande would cease to have a foothold in this world, and my family's legacy would disappear and be forgotten." Taking the hand under hers, she held it in her own, bringing another on top of it. "You have innate control of the Sanctuary, and with it you can protect everyone who remains here, no matter where you are."

"So, you wouldn't be against me sending the Wolves in your direction?" Emma was curious, clutching gently at the fingers in her palm, before untangling her hand from the other woman.

"No, of course not," Morgan confirmed. "But, why?"

The blonde considered her answer carefully. Should she share the truth that had been driving Guardian to such lengths? Or would it be enough to go with the easiest reason? "They have placed themselves firmly onto Regina's side, and I believe sooner or later, Zelena will retaliate by razing the village." Regina had done it for Snow's co-conspirators, it stood to reason that her sister would do the same, if not worse. "But, there is something else." Having drinked the last of Sudd Egnì, Emma tapped the empty cup on the surface of the table in an odd fidgeting move before she continued. "The magic is disappearing from the Enchanted Forest and when it goes completely, if nothing is done, the Forest itself will die with all life on it extinguished."

A horrified gasp escaped the older woman, as she brought her hand to her mouth. "No," she whispered in denial, but the blonde sat there, unmoving, her eyes resolute, and above all, honest.

"By Guardian's calculations, we have less than three months before it dissipates entirely," Emma went on, adding more to the horror Morgan was experiencing, and she watched as the woman got to her feet and started pacing. "This tiff between sisters is making the matter worse."

"But, you will stop it?" the sorceress quickly asked, pausing in her pacing.

"No," Emma shook her head, twirling the cup again, the grating wood giving finality to her word. "It cannot be stopped," she stated, leaning back, her hands falling to her lap.

"But, you are the-"

"The Savior," Emma sighed heavily. "Yes." A mirthless laugh followed and the blonde rose up, going to the nearest window, her soft thread taking her to pass by the queen on her way, leaving the woman stunned behind her. "There is a plan in the works, something cooked up by the Kinds to 'light the fires', shall we say," she revealed, looking outside, her eyes falling on the gathered crowd in front of the Marble Palace, and her senses guided her farther away in the opposite direction, down to the valley to the trace of her beloved. "And, yours truly," she added, her expression tenebrific, pointing to herself and turning away from the window, catching Morgan's eyes. "Is to provide the spark."

"Sacrificial rituals?" Morgan shook her head in dismay. "But, that's-"

"What needs to be done!" When the dark skinned woman's face crumpled in sorrow and Morgan stepped forward with her arms raised, Emma raised her hand, stopping the sorceress's approach. "But, first, I will go spend some time with my sons, see my friends, and prepare for the next part of my journeys."

"Which is?" The former Queen of Camelot asked after swallowing hard all the words bubbling up in her throat, and all the tears she wanted to shed for the brave woman in front of her. However, she could see, such expressions would not be welcome, so she composed herself quickly.

"Agrabah." Before the other woman could question her on it, she provided the answer. "I need the fairies, who they used to be, and the solution is in the Great Desert."

"Emma, I," Morgan approached the blonde carefully, but with a great sigh, she crossed her arms. "Be careful in Agrabah," she warned softly. "They seceded for a reason, and who knows what is the situation there now." Seeing the Sheriff nod in appreciation had to have been enough for the queen, because Morgan sighed and looked to the window. "Something odd happened yesterday," she spoke up after several minutes of gloomy silence. At Emma's curious glance, she waved the Savior to the window to look down below. And, there, in the crowd of people Emma had seen before, several horses stood, tacked and ready for the long journey. "We have about a dozen horses, bred from those that entered with us when we came here. Apart from Percival's steed, the others have been used for the supply runs."

"How many have you had in the beginning?"

"Four scores or so… But these were not the Gallant-bred, just ordinary working animals." The dark skinned woman pointed to the horses in front of the Palace. "But these aren't ours." The blonde only raised her eyebrow. "As I said. Yesterday, while the men were preparing to leave, one of the soldiers commented that leaving Brocéliande on foot would present a danger for you, and leaving us without any working animals would pose a great challenge for our planned exodus."

Emma didn't react in any way, her eyes going back to the horses. Using some of her magic to look at them, she felt the traces of wilderness in them, but they had been gentled and trained once upon a time, probably even before the Dark curse. And, then, she knew what had happened.

"And, before Howel stopped speaking about it, a large herd of horses rode into the village, and the queen's Gallant at the head of it." There was a questioning lilt in Morgan's tone, but Emma didn't comment, her lips twitching upwards in a barely there smirk. "Two or three scores of them, Percy has the head count."

"I had nothing to do with it, Morgan," Emma denied, all the while her lips pulled into a larger smirk.

"But, you know who did."

The Savior chuckled. "I have an idea, yes." The glimmering green eyes peered into the amber. "And, so do you," she added, confirming the queen's suspicion, once more looking outside. "They called the Gallants here, it wouldn't be so outrageous to suggest that they did this as well." Feeling a certain magical signature on the move, she flexed her shoulders and turned to her hostess. "If that is all?"

"Actually, no." Morgan brought her palm up to stop Emma from moving. "How much do you know about Regina's father?" Once more, Emma reacted only by raising her left eyebrow, but the gaze of those greens turned colder and sharper.

"Which one?" the Savior asked in turn, the tone of her voice hard.

"Henry is the third son of King Xavier," the former Queen of Camelot uttered quickly, patting Emma's forearm in conciliation. "As such, it was unlikely that he would ever be the king, or that his line would end up on the throne."

"To Cora's everlasting shame," the Savior tossed in, under her breath, making Morgan chortle a laugh.

"True," the woman smiled at the blonde. "However, she did manage to kill Matias, the firstborn, before she focused her attention on Leopold and Eva, or rather, she returned her focus to them. And, when Regina took power, Ander I was on the throne." Humming in acknowledgement, the blonde waved her hand, prompting the sorceress to continue. "Ander's only son passed in infancy to winter fever. Of his two daughters, one died in childbirth, along with the King's heir, and the other was sequestered away because of madness."

"And?"

Morgan tossed a hard look at the Savior, and when the blonde didn't react, she rolled her eyes. "Despite her actual parentage, Regina is the acknowledged daughter of Prince Henry and the only living Heir to King Xavier's kingdom," she explained.

"Lovely," the Sheriff uttered with derision. "However, thank you for pointing it out. It provided an option for something else Regina has been grappling with." With a small bow, Emma turned to leave, but instead of leaving alone, Morgan walked step in step with her. Glancing at the woman, the blonde saw a worried frown creasing the timeless face, and with a gentle nudge she prompted the woman to speak.

"You really are the sooth seeker," the Queen murmured with a resigned laugh. "Would you grant a favor to the old woman?" The Savior considered the woman beside her and then slowly inclined her head. "With what's looming in front of you, it would be an immeasurable loss for the world for your knowledge to be gone." She hesitated just as they reached the entrance to the House of Healing, but Morgan took a deep breath and asked her favor in a hurried exhale. "Would you consider making a sort of living memory, like Gorlois had?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Emma bent to pick up her things left against the door and putting them on, she thought over the request. It did have merit, so when her eyes found the saddened amber, she offered a slow but decisive nod. "I'll consider it." And, before the older woman could bring up any other topics, the Sheriff opened the door and stepped outside, into the cold.

---

Nodding in greeting to the men and women gathered at the bottom of the steps, Emma went straight to the black Gallant mare, patting her gently on the side as soon as she came close, admiring the freshly brushed coat gleaming in the early morning light. "Hey, girl," the blonde whispered as she leaned her forehead against the horse's neck. "Did you miss me?" she asked, looking into the intelligent dark eyes, scratching lightly at the long forehead. Then, with a soft whisper, an already quartered apple appeared in her hand, and careful to keep her fingers out of reach, she offered a piece to her steed. As the horse munched on the snack, Emma turned to the closest person to them. "Finn," she called out, drawing his attention, and as he walked over, she took in his appearance. Chainmail covered his young but developed frame, hanging to his mid-thighs, an one-handed sword swaying slowly as he walked, just off his hip, and a hard leather iron enforced conical helmet with a long nasal was tucked under his arm. Over the mail, he wore a long, thick, red hooded cape of Camelot, with simple black iron dragon-shaped clasps holding it closed at the neck. At the rites, he had worn a surcoat marking him as one of Arthur's Camelot soldiers, but now, he was without it. "Where's her saddle?" Emma asked the young soldier when he came within two steps of her, having already noticed that every other horse was already fully kitted out and ready to be mounted, restlessly pawing the ground.

"Ah, Finn hesitated for a brief moment, his features turning sheepish under her gaze. "We brought it out here," he confessed quietly, pointing out to the familiar things set out on the cleared steps of the stairs, the black leather polished to shine. "She allowed Howel to brush her down, but when he or anyone tried to saddle her, she would refuse."

Glancing at the unrepentant mare, Emma hummed in amusement. "Well, if you would bring them here," she said, lowering her saddle bag and weapons on the ground. In a practiced ritual between Shadow and her, the horse was quickly tacked, saddle bags attached in their places, and Emma's broken sword was tucked against the saddle, out of the way, but visible. Not needing the heavy cloak, the Savior tossed it over the mare's hindquarters, should she need it after they left the protective boundary of Brocéliande.

"And," Finn awkwardly broke the silence. "Her Majesty?"

"She was visiting a friend," Emma replied, checking the straps of the bridle. Satisfied with her inspection, she added. "She'll be here in a moment." Giving Finn the rein, she found Percival and in a quick stride went to him. The Knight was dressed for war, his mirror-like chainmail draping over his impressive physique, coming up to his knees, but with two splits in it to accommodate sitting in the saddle. Over his head and shoulders, a coif laid, it too shining like a mirror in the morning Sun, leaving only his face uncovered, and in his gauntleted hand, he held his segmented helmet. His legs were encased in upright steel inch wide plates, forming greaves and thigh protection, while his feet were dressed in steel-enforced boots. Over the armor, he wore a purple stained leather tunic, several equal-side crosses embossed with gold. "Morning," she greeted the man, taking his attention away from Morgan, breaking what seemed to be a heavy silence between the two. "Regina will be here in a minute, they should start mounting up."

"Geilgeis," Percival inclined his head, however he did not urge his men to do so. Instead he called them over. "Some of them you already know, having trounced them in the field, but let me introduce you to those riding with us." He was right, Emma remembered all of the company from the fields or seeing them in the village, but now, she was given their names. There was the mentioned Howel, a short, bow legged man in his forties and the best groomsman in the village, dressed similarly as Finn, who was also coming with them; Bodwyn, a corpulent member of the King's guard, wearing the armor of his post; and, finally, Owain, another member of the King's guard, but unlike his fellow, he was a willowy guy, his long, blond beard reminding Emma of Vikings. The rest of the company, she knew well. Dai and Gwen wished her a good morning, before they got back to their assigned horses, preparing for the road.

As soon as formal introductions were over, the men mounted up, some of the soldiers carrying poles with standards hanging on them. Curiously, Finn was holding one with black interrupted square up, taking the position to the front, left and little behind to where Regina would be in the procession. Dai and the riderless horse Emma recognized as Percival's were beside him, a pole with Tintagel's flag in his hand. One of the King's Guard was holding its banner, while the other one carried Camelot's flag, both on their horses, and in between them was Gwen. Howel, however, was in charge of the three other horses who were burdened with additional weapons and supplies, bringing the rear of the group.

As the men were saying the last of their goodbyes, Emma found the shifter and shared a few words with her, and accepting a scroll for Aileen's son, the blonde led them back to the stairs, joining the dark skinned woman.

"Her Majesty is coming," one of the gathered men shouted out, and the crowd quickly cleared out, letting the majestic white Gallant pass through and go to the head of the procession. Regina, taking Percy's hand, dismounted and came to the stairs, where both Emma and Morgan were waiting. Leaving her wife to say her own goodbyes to her short-time mentor, the Savior shared a few words with the folks staying in Brocéliande, accepting their heartfelt good wishes in turn. At Percival's sharp call, she turned and saw the brunette back on Spirit, inconspicuously wiping her cheeks. A few strides later, she was holding Shadow's reins, ready to go up. In a smooth move, she was in the saddle, and with a gesture she set the procession in motion, hanging back for a minute, turning Shadow in place so she could face the Mistress of the House of Healing. "We'd like to see you off when you make your journey to Avalon," Emma spoke up.

The dark skinned woman inclined her head in a grateful bow. "It will take us more than a fortnight to traverse to the shores," the sorceress warned, aware of the Savior's plans. Emma hummed in thought, bringing a map of the Enchanted Forest in mind.

"You'll need twice that, to avoid the Ogres and Trolls, and Wolf's Cole is blocked, which forces you to go to the pass," the blonde pondered out loud. With an idea in her mind, she leaned forward. "You'll need about a day to Aileen's people, right?" A hesitant nod came her way, and the blonde offered the solution. "I will meet you there and will provide you a safe passage to the shores to Avalon. It will save you and your people some hardship along the way."

"It will be much appreciated," the older woman acknowledged with gratitude, her hands clasped together. Then, with a newly found serenity, the former Queen of Camelot came closer to the rider and spoke a short blessing in Elvish, before sending Emma off with a few heartfelt words. "Until we meet again, Geilgeis. May Draeidhach keep you safe, my Sovereign."

At the blessing, Emma placed her fist to her chest. May Magic protect her, indeed. "Slahn Lehv," she murmured back and sent Shadow running to meet with the rest of her company, catching quickly up to them and taking her place at the head of the group. It didn't take them long to get to the border, especially since Percival guided them to the pathway crossing closest to the Wolf village, the same one Aileen had used weeks before.

"Percy," Regina called out as soon as the large menhirs appeared in their way. "Lead the rest through," she ordered softly, offering him Spirit's reins, before she got off her saddle. Emma followed her lead, dismounting as well. "I figure, with the magic saturation different, there is bound to be an effect as we cross," the brunette explained in a low voice as soon as the Sheriff came close to her.

They waited as the whole company passed by the border stones, both Regina and Emma feeling the slight fluctuations as each person exited, and when the last of them, Percy, leading both of the Gallants with him crossed over, Regina pulled startled Emma into a hug. Her face rubbed against the blonde's neck as the woman sought comfort in her wife's arms. "Hey, my Heart," the Sheriff murmured softly against the dark hair, enveloping the brunette in her arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Regina replied quietly. "Just a hard talk," she said in explanation, not moving from Emma's neck.

"Yeah, Guardian is fond of those," the blonde agreed, remembering her own conversations with the dragon. "So, I was thinking," she started, providing the woman leaning against her with a distraction. "We should go to the dwarves now, rather than later. But, it will take us too long if we go with our horses."

"You mean magic," Regina said, lifting her head up. "That distance is too much," she contended slowly, peering into the determined green eyes, and she saw the reply coming before Emma even opened her mouth, spewing it sassily back at the blonde. "Not for you, right." She pursed her lips, frowning. "As long as we get to Henry and Kyle at a decent hour, and not miss Christmas entirely."

"Trust me," the Sheriff urged, and with a chaste kiss, Regina acquiesced. Taking her wife's hand in her own, Emma slowly walked to the menhirs, and after an encouraging squeeze of her fingers, she guided them out of Brocéliande. It was strange for one small moment, like she was passing through a small room filled with highly ionized air, before she could feel the difference. For starters, it was much colder outside, and it was dark. Middle of the night, dark. Had they missed their marked date? It took her a few seconds more to feel the loss of ambiental magic around her. Magic was still there, but it was weak. However, it didn't have any noticeable consequence on her. Hurriedly, she turned around, looking over the brunette. "You alright?"

"Fine," Regina confirmed, nodding resolutely. "Feels a bit like the diamond, but it doesn't bother me." The reference to the last day she had spent in Storybrooke confused their companions, but Emma just smiled. "You're not affected?" The query came with a hand on Emma's shoulder, as the brunette looked into the Savior's face, her eyes examining her closely. The other woman shook her head, tossing her arm around the brunette's shoulders, pulling her gently into a half hug, sharing her warmth with the woman.

Looking at the gathered soldiers, Knight of the Round Table and the young healer, Emma slowly guided the two of them closer to the group. "Percival, you know the way to the village?"

"Yes, it's about a two hour ride from here, less if we push the horses." The Knight pointed his articulated gauntlet to what Emma judged to be East. "Are we parting?" he asked shrewdly as he glanced between the women.

"Only for a brief time. Go a bit faster, but there is no need to really push the horses." The blonde gave the instruction, then pointed to Regina and herself. "We'll join you there in a couple of hours, perhaps a bit more." Then, she brought her wife into a firmer hold and called upon her magic, letting it slowly flow around the pair of them, the various colors of her power swirling together before enveloping them entirely, and between one blink and another, they were gone.

---

They materialized in a poorly lit but familiar cavern. The small ante-chamber with hewn walls and old stalactites decorating the ceiling, and sconces placed at the height of ten feet was unchanged from the last time Emma had been here. The only difference was that the old but large, intricate carved wood door was somewhat repaired, but scorch marks and deep gashes had permanently damaged it. They were closed and Emma was pleased to note that this time, there was no scent of blood in the air. However, there was a sharp gong reverberating, and a sound of many boots running to the ancient door followed. In a quick move, unwilling to risk the safety of her passenger, the Savior pulled out her sword and stepped in front of the brunette, at the ready, waiting for the door to open.

The large door moved, and through the small gap opening, a dozen dwarves streamed into the chamber, all shouting and pointing their spears to the intruders, quickly assembling in two rows in front of the entrance, the pointed ends thrusted forward, barring the access to the inner chambers of the mine. The Sheriff just stood there, her sword glowing in the dimness of the cavern, casting just enough light to illuminate her face, as she watched the defenders hesitate over their next step. She didn't begrudge them their dithering as she clearly wasn't attacking, but still she entered the mine uninvited.

Then, one of the dwarves lowered the spear, breaking the formation as he made one step forward, his eyes fixed to Emma's face. "Knight Swan?" the dwarf uttered softly, his query quieting the rest of his people down. He came closer, and finally, he seemed to confirm her identity under the poor light of the torches in sconces and the whitish gleam coming off the sword. "It is you!" At his call, the rest of the dwarves started murmuring her name, dropping out of the defensive postures, and started sharing her real name and title, along with her origins to those who were unaware, but apart from that one brave soul who called out her name, they didn't approach. With the danger of being skewered on those sharp points passing, the blonde lowered her sword, relaxing her posture, but still she remained in front of Regina, not quite sure how the folk would react to the Evil Queen among them. The woman herself seemed content to keep quiet and hang back in the shadows, so Emma did nothing to draw attention to her.

Apparently, with the danger gone, some of the dwarves returned inside and the word of her arrival had spread, and suddenly a shout of her name, echoing through the vast halls of the mine, reached the blonde, as well as the patter of one pair of feet, running over the stone floor. "Emma Swan," the shout came again, and since there was only one dwarf who called her that, the blonde smirked. As the youngling rushed in, flying through the door and through the rest of the defenders, the blonde sheathed her sword and lowered herself down onto one knee, letting her arms fall by her sides. And, she was just in time to catch the young dwarf heading straight at her as he jumped, his arms going around her neck. Gently, she brought her hand to his back, pressing him closer into the hug, slightly concerned for his shuddering breath, but quite soon, the dwarfling's breathing calmed and he nuzzled into her hold.

"I am happy to see you too, Cheeky," the Savior murmured, rubbing the youngling's back with tenderness she rarely showed to those outside of her immediate family. After a while, the dwarf disentangled from the Savior and, holding his hands on her shoulders he looked her over, his light blue eyes meeting hers. Slowly and softly, the youngling lifted his left hand and placed it on Emma's cheek, his thumb tracing the soft skin below her eye, obviously remembering the darkened bruise that had been there when he had seen her the last time. "I am better," she whispered at his curious glance, her kind whisper finally bringing a smile out of the youngling. "I want you to meet someone," she continued in that same whisper, her hand taking his shoulder as she rose up and guided him to the shadows further away from the door. "Don't be afraid," she spoke as she gestured to the woman there, her hand motion inviting the brunette to join them. "This is my wife and True Love," the Savior said with a loving smile, bringing the youngling closer to the other woman. "Regina, this charming fellow here is Cheeky."

At the sound of the woman's name, the dwarf gasped, but Emma's hand held him back from bolting. But, somewhat comforted by the Savior's presence, the youngling felt some of his terror and anxiety dissipate and, gathering his courage, he looked up into the face of the famous Evil Queen.

Regina, sharing a look with her beloved, smiled at the dwarf, before she brought herself down to one knee, deciding that for this meeting to lessen the height difference. "Emma told me lovely things about you, Cheeky," she said quietly.

"You… You're the Queen," he murmured, a trace of fear evident in his voice.

"Yes," Regina confirmed.

"But, you are Emma Swan's True Love," he added, perplexed, his eyes darting quickly to the Savior, seeing a loving smile on her face as she looked at them. Quickly, his gaze returned to the woman in front of him, and he caught the same soft smile spreading to the Queen's lips, as she looked up at the blonde. For that moment, it seemed like he wasn't even there, as the two women were captured in each other's gaze.

The moment broke, and the brunette returned her attention to him. "Yes," she replied, her eyes looking at him in a way he would have never associated with the Evil Queen - softly, indulgently, almost motherly.

He took a deep breath and nodded, accepting it. "Okay." Then, he thrust his hand forward, offering it to the brunette. "Dwarf Cheeky at your service, Your Majesty."

Grasping his hand, the Queen chuckled in delight at the boy's attitude. "You, dear, can call me Regina."

While the two were meeting, the chief of the dwarves reached the antechamber, sending the guard off to their places inside. Although he recognized the Savior's companion, he didn't alert the others to her presence, the blonde's soft reaction to hearing her mention firmly planted in his mind. "Knight Swan," he spoke up as soon as the woman clad in black straightened up.

"Busy," Emma exclaimed, turning to him. "Just the dwarf I wanted to see." Accepting the dwarf's invitation to join him inside, the Savior left Regina with Cheeky, knowing that they would follow the two of them in, and that with Cheeky's help, the brunette would prevent any sort of misunderstandings getting out of hand. "I need to talk to you about something important," she added as the chief brought her to a small chamber that served as their version of the office.

"If it is about the dust," the dwarf said as he climbed onto a stool by a small desk, offering the Savior a two feet high barrel to sit on. "We have about two stones worth, but even with the restored mill, it will take some time to reach our previous production times."

"That is good to know," Emma acknowledged as she took a seat, her eyes quickly passing over the old and frail dwarf, noticing that the ghastly wound he had sustained from the Witch had healed into a long but thin scar. "But, that is not quite exactly why I am here." Placing her hand on her knee, she tilted her head, glancing through the opening of the 'office' to the large cavern beyond. "But, first, I see some new faces around here."

Busy glanced out before he looked at the Savior. "Ah, yes. After you left us, I sent word to other mines hoping some of the others would join us." He then picked a small wooden pipe from the desk and got a glass jar out of somewhere, filled with dry herbs. With a quick and steady hand he filled the pipe, before lighting a small wooden stick on the closest lantern. "I am saddened to say that what you see here," the dwarf announced, offhandedly waving to the clamoring group outside, before he brought the flaming stick to his pipe, lighting the herbs in it. "Is about a half of what is left of us in the Enchanted Forest," he revealed heavily before taking a deep pull of smoke from the pipe.

"So few," Emma remarked, as she tried to count all the sparks of magic around her, coming up with a number too small for her comfort. When the lightly scented smoke reached her, Emma noted the odors of mullein, skullcap and sage in it, surprised not to scent tobacco in it. Deciding to ask Gwen later about it, the Savior returned to the point of her visit. Garnering the dwarf's full attention, she quickly explained what had been going on and what was expected of her. When she started explaining about bringing the fairies of old back, she startled when the chief of the dwarves barked a pleased laugh.

"This mine is quite isolated, Knight Swan," the old dwarf started talking, leaning back as he smoked his pipe. "Even in the old days, we were so out of the way that the Fairies rarely bothered to keep a close look on us. And, even though no one here remembers the times of before, there are records kept and carefully hidden, that spoke of Ghorm's treachery, of subjugation of our people."

"The more I learn about her, the worse it gets," Emma murmured to her chin, before she went back to her story, explaining what she needed of his people. "It will need to be highly conducive to high powered magic," she said, as the dwarf started writing her requirements down. "And about this big." Placing her hands about a foot apart, she went on further describing the stone. "And, I'll need it in a week's time."

"It is quite the work you've given us, Knight Swan," Busy hummed, before he nodded. "But, we will not fail you." Pulling another smoke from the pipe, he then asked. "What are your plans for us?" Even though he seemed resigned, there was a hard edge in the dwarf's voice, and the blonde appreciated it, knowing that at least some of them were bucking under the constraints Blue had imposed on them.

"With the teachings of old and my cooperation, the previous balance will be restored, where you were the Fairies's partners rather than slaves." Emma shifted her barrel a bit forward so she could place her elbow onto the desk. "If your kind wasn't so dependent on theirs for procreation, I would've figured something else." But, then, her eyes gleamed with determination. "However, with some tweaks, I can make sure that another cannot meddle with it the way Reul Ghorm had."

"Many thanks," the dwarf nodded in supplication. Finishing with his smoke, he tapped the pipe against the desk, shaking out the remaining ash out of it before placing it by his side. "There is one matter I would ask your Highness to consider," Busy hesitantly entreated as he looked out to the other cavern, but Emma knew that in his mind he saw something else. "It is in regards to Cheeky." As Emma's expression darkened, the dwarf conciliatory raised his palm. "With the arrival of so many new dwarves, our young friend has started having trouble getting along with others." With a sad sigh, he clasped his hands, resting them on the desk. "It isn't the boy's fault, and I am not blaming him. However, it is the fact that his exuberance and audacity are majorly seen as insolence and disrespect among the newcomers, despite those that are of this mine running interference for him."

"Has he been hurt?" The Savior sharply asked.

"Scuffles here and there," the dwarf replied, calmly in the face of the Knight's anger. "But, I fear it is the words that wound him the greatest."

Swallowing hard against the brimming temper, the blonde rose from the barrel, stooping slightly so she wouldn't hit her head on the ceiling. "What would you have me do?"

Busy sighed. "He wanted to leave with you before. Perhaps, you'd be willing to take him?"

With a clenched jaw, the Sheriff nodded sharply, before she turned on the spot and stalked out, leaving traces of bluish mist in her wake. She found Regina and her young friend, and now that her attention had been drawn to it, she noticed the glares and stares pointed at him from the others, mostly from those she didn't recognize. "We're leaving," she announced, her voice hard and sharp, echoing throughout the cavern, startling everyone. But, when she saw Cheeky's face fall at the proclamation, the blonde caught his chin with her hand, her touch gentle despite the anger she was radiating. "We are leaving," she repeated, stressing the first word. It didn't take long for the youngling's face to light up as understanding came, and with a short, but happy yip, he rushed out to gather what meager things he had.

"Emma?" came the soft inquiry as her wife rubbed her shoulder, but the blonde didn't want to calm down.

"My friend," the Sheriff said, seemingly only to Regina, but her voice rang out, making everyone a witness to the conversation. "Is being ridiculed, taunted and beaten! Just because he is a bit vivacious in temper." Then the blonde turned to the dwarves gathered there, up to now enjoying a bit of breakfast. "Since you don't want him, I will take him," she snarled at the hapless group in front of her, ignoring the old chief leaning against the wall. "But, know that I help the dwarves only because of him. You owe him your lives and the lives of your people in its entirety!" Seeing Regina bring the youngling in her arms to protect him from all the looks suddenly turned his way, Emma growled out harshly, and pulled on her magic, and in a fit of temper sent a large bolt of it to split the long table the dwarves sitting at, breaking it in half by length, before she transported the three of them out.

---

Unsettled by the rapid onset of anger, and by the tantrum her beloved threw, Regina frowned in worry, letting the familiar magic envelop her and the young dwarf clinging to her waist. Due to their connection and the way their powers interacted with each other, the brunette wasn't a blind and helpless passenger in the spell, but rather she could see the location Emma was taking them to quite clearly. It was a village, not unlike many of the poor hamlets she had traveled to and through over the years of her reign. Instead of wood cottages and stone houses, the settlement consisted of huts, constructed of earth, grass, trees and whatever the people here had available to build habitable homes. Five large objects were placed in a somewhat wide but interrupted circle, with something like a public space at the center of it. Beyond them, about two dozen huts spread in the same open circle fashion. From Emma's memories, she knew that the middle hut, which was incidentally the biggest of all of them, was the one where the village elder, Althea, resided and held her court. The others of the five must have provided some communal spaces, while the huts beyond the first circle were personal homes.

Emerging from the transportation spell right in front of the elder's hut, brightly lit by the large fires in front of it, Regina first kindly removed the young dwarf's arms from around her and then quickly went to the blonde, ignoring the yelps and cries of surprise their sudden appearance had caused. "Emma?" She grasped the Sheriff's arm and placing her hand on the woman's face, she brought the angry eyes to meet hers. "Hey," she said, her voice soft, as she watched emotions bleed out of the green eyes, as they became hard under the emotional walls the blonde was raising.

"I'm fine," Emma replied quietly, her pale face reflecting the fire.

Regina sighed at the defense. "Don't do that," she pleaded softly, coming even closer to the blonde. "Don't hide from me. If you can't talk about it, or don't want to deal with this right now, that's fine, but don't shut me out." Her urgent whisper seemed to have no effect on the warrior woman, and due to the crowd they were attracting, Regina was hesitant to say anything more, but then, Emma closed her eyes, the lids pressing down tightly. And, as they were revealed, the greens were not cold or hard as before, still showing traces of anger, but now it was tempered with the love the blonde was willing to show. The Sheriff then dipped her head and kissed the fingers that had rested on her cheek, before she walked away.

"Children of the Moon, I come here bearing you no ill will," the Savior proclaimed to the village, her voice loud enough to be heard by all the gathered, and waking most of those who had been sleeping. Curious, Regina looked around and saw that the two, well three now, of them were the first of their company to arrive. As her eyes passed over the crowding villagers, she noted the way they were stealing glances at her, but still the main focus of their attention was the Savior, especially after the woman's loud proclamation, which, only at that moment Regina realized was almost exactly what the blonde had said the first time she had been here.

Suddenly a leather flap on the elder's hut was moved aside and a small, frail old woman, bent by arthritis and old age stood in its place, helped by a young woman and a knobbly stick. "Enough theatrics, child," a raspy voice with a wheeze called out. "Let me see you, and the guests you bring," the old woman added before she motioned to the girl to bring her back inside.

Emma came back to Regina, offering her elbow to her as she placed her other hand onto Cheeky's shoulder. "Come on, you'll be fine." Moving the skins out of the way, the blonde led them into the stiflingly warm hut, directing them to the hearth and the chairs placed closest to it. Then, in a move that should have surprised Regina but didn't, the Savior knelt beside the occupied chair, gently reaching for a wrinkled hand covered in aging spots. "Well met, Althea," the blonde spoke softly, her gesture prompting a smile out of the old woman. "I bring you a most treasured guest, Elder," the Savior continued, looking up at Regina. She tilted her head and motioned to the brunette to join them, and seeing no reason not to, Regina did as asked, taking a spot beside Emma, reaching for the woman's other hand. As soon as the woman's skin touched her own, the brunette gasped as she felt the blonde's magic trickling into the old woman, the gentle presence of it healing small aches and troubles away. "Queen Regina herself," Emma finished with a smile.

"Oh, child, you honor this old woman beyond words," the woman whispered heavily, tears slipping out of the dark eyes as she inclined her head in gratitude. Then, turning to the brunette, the elder pulled her hand out of Emma's hold and patted her forearm. "Now, let me speak to your lass, child," the woman spoke, sending the Savior away. The blonde chuckled in acceptance and placing a soft kiss to Regina's cheek, she rose to her feet and taking Cheeky's hand, she left them alone.

"She thinks she is so crafty," the old woman said, drawing Regina's attention back. "Like I wouldn't notice her magic," she chuckled weakly, her laugh quickly turning into a spattering of coughs. The brunette tried to help but the woman waved her away, and when the young girl from before brought a cup of water to her, she took it in her shaking hands. "Do not fret, my darling lass," the elder uttered slowly, her voice a bit rougher after the coughs. "I am old, and this winter is cold. Such is the order of things."

"What can I do?" Helpless, Regina remained on her knees, her heart breaking for this elder of the shifters. Although she vaguely remembered meeting the woman ages before and she knew who the elder was to Aileen and Liam, she felt drawn to this woman, who had lived through so much, been through so much. It didn't help that Emma obviously held some affection for the elder, further coloring her own interaction with the woman. And, Althea was right. If this winter was to be the woman's last, there was nothing she could do.

"Indulge the old woman and listen," Althea wheezed out, squeezing her hand. In a soft, often breaking voice, the woman started telling Regina the history of her people in short strokes, her tangential stories more often than not interrupted by the insistent cough. As it got worse, the girl from before came to sit by the woman's side, her deep blue eyes dimmed in sadness, as she held a cup of soothing tea to the woman's mouth. As the girl helped the elder get her breath back, Regina noted all the similarities between the girl and the healer she had left in Brocéliande. And, the shifter she had left in the White Castle. "Lass," the woman called Regina, and the brunette leaned closer, sharing a worried look with the younger shifter. "The reason for these stories," the elder gasped weakly. She waved the girl forward. "Fiadh, tell her," she managed to say before falling asleep, her ragged breath easing somewhat.

"You drugged the tea," Regina quickly surmised, facing the girl.

"The water," the girl replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Mom's orders. She was supposed to rest, especially at this time of night." Having gently covered the woman with a light blanket, the young shifter guided Regina away from both the fire and the woman.

"What did she want you to tell me?"

Fiadh sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Your Majesty, what you see in this village, not counting the men and women Liam took with him, are what's left of our people. Not only in the Enchanted Forest, but in all the worlds we've traveled." Regina's eyes filled with pity. Of the entire race, only a mere hundred remained? "And, Liam might be the Chief, as the first Alpha male in the Family, but she," Fiadh pointed to the old woman. "She is our Elder, a queen if you will."

"Okay?" Regina frowned. It did explain the somewhat irreverent way the woman had been addressing them, but the brunette had attributed it to the benefits of old age.

"As you may know, our customs differ to those of Men," the girl continued. "When you saved her life, and the lives of others with her, it incurred a debt we cannot repay." Regina frowned and shook her head, opening her mouth to refute the words, but the young Wolf pressed on. "And even if you tried, you could not absolve it." At the slump of the brunette's shoulders, the shifter looked at her apologetically. "Mamo stated many times that she may still be the elder, but the true queen of this people is the one many know as Evil Queen. The one who saved us." Fiadh peered into the brown eyes. "You."

Any other discussion was stopped by Emma entering the hut again. "Others are close by." She then turned to the girl, and Regina immediately saw when the Savior realized the family connection. She smirked at the girl before she looked toward Althea. "Can she be moved?"

"Not in this cold," Fiadh replied. "Not without a horse."

The blonde nodded. "That's easily solved."

"What are you thinking?" Regina placed her hand on Emma's back, feeling the gathering tension.

"She needs to go to Aileen," the blonde replied in a low, but insistent voice. The name drop drew Fiadh to listen closely. "House of Healing is there for a reason. Do you still have Fìorleigheas on you?" Regina quickly found the flask and offered it to her wife, but the Sheriff shook her head. "You give it to her, one sip. Should clear out her lungs for the moment." Then the woman in white turned to the girl, her demanding stature captivating the young shifter's attention. "Prepare the most necessary things for her travel. I will take her to the Sanctuary."

The next few minutes were chaotic, as Regina coaxed the sleeping woman to sip from the flask and the girl packed a small bag of things. During that time, Emma first closed her eyes, a soft thrum of magic rising from her. Then, after a long minute of motionlessness, she opened her eyes and strode outside, her sharp whistle calling for Shadow. Not a moment later, she was back in the hut, gathering the elder in her arms, and with Fiadh's help, bundled her up for the cold outside. While in her arms, Althea woke up, and swearing under her weak breath, the old woman called out to Regina, her age-riddled hand landing on the brunette's forehead.

Her still raspy, but suddenly strong voice was heard by all the gathered people, which included their traveling party. "Dearbhaím duit an Banríon Mac Tíre!" The words were followed by affirmations shouted out from the tribe, but for Regina, they were accompanied by a subtle, but pervasive feel of a stranger's magic settling into her body, coexisting with her own. She didn't have time to question what had just happened, as the Savior clicked her tongue and forced Shadow into a magically fast gallop, the urgency in her motions obvious.

It was only later that Emma explained herself and what she had done. Calling out to Guardian to alert the healers to the new arrival, pushing Shadow to cross a two hour journey in mere minutes, dropping off the elder in the hands of her granddaughter and Brianna, and finally, urging Shadow to return to the village.

But, while she was away on her speedy rescue, Regina found out that the Sheriff had used the time the brunette had been enclosed with Althea to convince the villagers to set out for Brocéliande as well. Taking a seat at one of the fires lit to warm up the travelers, Regina joined Cheeky on a trunk placed there for sitting. "Is it always so interesting?" the young dwarf asked, his curious question drawing chuckles from the people gathered there.

"With Emma," Regina replied with a smile. "Most definitely."

---

After the Savior returned from her jaunt, she and Regina sequestered themselves with what appeared to be the Chief's family, leaving the rest of them to take a small break from saddles. Shifting his shield onto his back, Percival approached the young healer, interested to see how she was faring after the ride, unused to the saddle as she was. With her he found the Savior's new friend, a young copper haired dwarf by the most remarkable name of Cheeky, and within seconds he found himself chuckling at the dwarf's sense of humor and dry remarks, however, it was his young, almost naive exuberance that brought a large smile to the knight's face, as in the later years he had rarely been around such light-heartedness, most of his companions starting to buckle under the oppressing feel of isolation. Sitting around the fires the Wolves had arranged for them, he and his people kept themselves warm, enjoying their conversations with both the dwarf and the shifters that were curious enough to talk with the strangers from a mythical place they only knew stories of. It was in one such conversation that he learned what the whole fuss with the elder had been about, and remembering the chagrined expression of his newly instated Queen, he chuckled. As this particular conversation proved to be interesting enough for others to join in, Percival quickly learned how to address the brunette and how to present her to others, according to the traditions of the Wolves.

About three quarters of an hour after they secluded themselves, the bonded couple exited the elder's hut, and with a few words of goodbyes for the shifters, the two women mounted their Gallants, their actions prompting others to follow. Taking the initiative to help the newest member of their company, he led the youngling to Gwen. When the healer settled in her seat, he lifted the dwarf and placed him in front of her on the horse. As he turned to mount his own steed, he found Emma's eyes on him. A grateful smile widened her lips and she nodded at him, before she let out a sharp order, urging them to move on. And, in the lightly brightening sky on the morning of the fourth day after the Solstice, the group rode out of the village in the direction of the still hidden Sun. They were riding only for a few minutes, just enough to steer clear of anyone hanging about or following them, when the blonde raised her hand in a fist, motioning them to stop. "This is good enough," she said, and dismounted. Percival did the same in confusion, and quickly joined the woman.

"Why have we stopped?" he asked, looking around and searching for danger, his hand ready on the pommel of his sword. Slightly shaking her head at him, she touched his shoulder, and by her expression he concluded that there was no immediate danger.

"We aren't going to ride the whole way to the White Castle," the Savior explained. "It would take us more than two days, and Regina and I have to be there, today," she said firmly, looking into the distance. When the brunette joined them, Geilgeis smiled at her worried wife and nudged her shoulder. "Come on, I did do this before, with far more people, you know?" With a quick explanation, the Savior instructed everyone to dismount and keep the horses steady, and then, when everyone was ready, the blonde raised her hands.

He hadn't been in the grove when Geilgeis had thoroughly stunned Morgan and the rest of the practitioners into awed silence by her prowess with her skill and ability, but he hadn't missed the wonderstruck and downright reverential tellings and retellings of that event. But, at the Inheritance, he had seen glimpses of her power, and when Morgan had explained to him exactly what the blonde had done, he had been left with amazement colored by fear at the immense might Geilgeis possessed.

However, now he could see it for himself. The small, but sparse copse the warrior had chosen for their stop was quickly filled with colorful mist, its tendrils speedily wrapping around each of the members and the horses and when his vision was completely obstructed by it, he felt the earth disappear from beneath him. Before the instinctive panic could grip him, his feet touched the ground and he was released from the magical mist. Only moments later, it cleared and instead of the dimness of twilight, he saw the top of the Sun peeking above the horizon, and in the weak light he saw that they were on a small hillock, in a similar copse to that they had come from, most of the land around him buried in snow. There was also a noticeable drop in temperature, and he concluded that open plains of Enchanted Forest suffered worse from the harsh weather than the thick forests of magically protected Infinite Forest. A shout of the Savior's name startled him out of his examinations, and he turned to see Geilgeis teeter in place. Unaware that he had moved, he found himself wrapping his arm around the woman's back, helping her steady herself.

"Geilgeis?" He looked at her face and seeing the effects of strain, he quickly motioned for Gwen to join him. "Emma?"

The blonde nodded. "Just need a minute," she sputtered, accepting the full skin Gwen had brought over.

"It's the magic," the young healer supplied as she watched the blonde gain back her color and stability.

"Yeah," Geilgeis agreed, her eyes searching for the brunette. Finding her seated, while Dai and Cheeky kept her company, she sighed in relief. "Here, the loss of it is more pronounced. Drastically." As she spoke, getting steadier by the second, she watched the brunette go up with Dai's help and slightly stagger towards them, and when the black-clad woman was close enough, Geilgeis stepped away from Percival's helpful arm.

"You okay?" Regina asked her wife, sinking into the inviting arms Geilgeis offered her.

"Won't be doing that again," the blonde chuckled ruefully. Rubbing Regina's back, she glanced at the Knight, still standing by her side. "We are about a bit more than a half league away from the castle, to the Southeast." She pointed, and through the trees he could see the odd arches of the White Castle gleaming in the Sun. "With horses, at a light jog it would take about twenty minutes to get there."

"Did you hide us on purpose?" As the Queen asked her question, Percival blinked in surprise. In the cover of the trees, they would be invisible to the watchers in the castle, even from the shifters and exploring the hillock, he saw that on this side of the castle there were no other covers for them.

"I just didn't want us to land in the open," Geilgeis replied. But then a hitch in breath came from the blonde as she focused on the castle in the distance. "Regina? Did you tell your people to hoist the Empire flags?"

The brunette quickly looked at her castle, frowning as she barely saw swatches of color fluttering in the wind. "No," she denied. "Why? What do you see?" He too looked at the tallest tower and saw the flags, but they were too far for him to actually see what was on them. And, to him they seemed like ordinary flags, so how did Geilgeis know that they were of the Empire?

Emma clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes at the castle. "Okay, let's see if you can decipher this," she said with a smirk, posing a challenge to the brunette. "Black with the green horizontal stripe at the top and a grey one at the bottom, and white with a purple square at the center of it."

Percival kept quiet as the older woman considered what Geilgeis had said. "So black with grey at the bottom is 'Danger but currently safe', and green… Betrayers?" The blonde hummed, her hand making so-and-so motion. "Traitors?"

"Or spies," the blonde added. "And, the other?"

Regina looked up, biting her lip. "Mourning for… Nobility?"

"Magic. Or a person of Magic." She swept her hand over her body pointedly. "That one has Mulan all over it," she added with some levity. "Now, the white flag was over the black one, so it means that the danger isn't serious, or that they have it under control and this is just a cautionary warning." She then scowled as she once more looked at the castle, now glaring at it. "Which means, I need to check it out." The brunette nodded grimly, grabbing Emma's forearm, their eyes connecting, and Percival frowned, because only a second later, Geilgeis nodded, murmured 'I promise' and disappeared in a swirl of magic.