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The Queen no longer asked her mirror if she was fair. Even if it was still magic, she knew the answer would only anger her and she was trying so hard to control her anger these days. She touched her cheek, pulling the skin slightly so that the lines beside her eyes disappeared. Time in the kingdom passed at a lazy pace, allowing children to grow up while their parents still remained young and vital. As a result Regina looked to be only a few years older than Snow White. But there were signs for those who knew where to look. Crows feet next to her eyes, streaks of silver in her hair. She could cover them all and look as she had when she married Snow's father, but her vanity had been receding for the past few years.
She extended her hand, tracing the lines of her face with one finger. How different things had been in those days. She had been a wrathful, hateful woman whose only purpose in life was victory. She lost one chance for love and blinded herself to all other opportunities. Rather than allowing herself to find a new source of happiness, she sought a way to take happiness from everyone else in the world. Her throat tightened at the memory, of striding purposefully into Snow and Charming's wedding and declared she would take their happiness away just as Snow had taken hers away.
Months of planning amounted to nothing, in the end. The spell backfired. Her mother had discovered what she was planning and set up a counterspell. The resulting surge of energy nearly killed Regina, and she was discovered by Snow's miner friends. They took her to the palace, thinking their new Princess would want to imprison her or somehow punish her for what she had tried to do, but Snow was benevolent as always. Regina was nursed back to health in the castle infirmary and, when she was healthy enough to do so, allowed to leave if she wished.
She ignored the stares of everyone in the courtyard as she mounted her own horse, guiding it out the palace gates with her head held high. Snow was waiting outside of the walls on her own horse, and Regina immediately assumed it was some sort of ambush. Snow was the mother of a newborn, but in her weakened state Regina knew she was no match for the younger woman. Any attempt to fight would be a slaughter. Still, she was ready to defend herself as best she could. To her surprise, Snow's sword remained sheathed.
"Since I was a little girl, you have blamed me for the crime of being a child. I didn't know what I was saying, what the consequences would be. But your mother was the one who acted on it. She killed Daniel. She tortured you with what she had done. And now she has tried to kill you with your own magic. You and I can continue this maddening opposition we have with one another, or we can join forces and finally put Cora where she belongs. Stop wasting your time trying to get back at a little girl who made a mistake and focus your anger on the proper villain. Look behind you."
Regina reluctantly turned. The people who had been milling about in the courtyard were now standing behind her. They were armed, clad in armor, and looked ready for a fight. Snow rode her horse so that it stood next to Regina's.
"You were never really my stepmother. But you could have been my friend. And we still have the chance to be allies."
Regina looked away. "I wouldn't even know where to start."
Snow smiled. "Then let us help you, Regina. Stop fighting against us and use our strength."
Regina had felt her armor breaking off. Small pieces at first, allowing a small nod to accept Snow's plea. Soon she was leaving chunks in her wake, her kingdom united with King George's. When George passed away, Snow and Charming ascended to the throne and they officially announced an era of peace between their land and Regina's.
But that was all ages ago. A lifetime for some people. People continued to fall in love, marry, have children. Regina smiled at the fleeting thought and turned away from the mirror. She herself had never married again. She swore her heart to Daniel and he still possessed it. But she had never been alone, and in the past few years she'd never been lonely.
She dressed in a navy blue gown with a high collar, the two halves connected by a thread that she kept loose enough to show off her cleavage. Her royal aide did her hair and applied her makeup; dark red for her lips and just a touch of blue for her eyes to complement the color of her gown. Her nails were painted, and her feet were laced into knee-length boots. The last touch was a light touch of perfume behind each ear. Regina kissed the aide's knuckles as a thank-you for her work and finally left the royal chambers.
In the first years, she tried to be a good queen. She led by Snow's example, and she used her mother as a cautionary tale to keep herself on the right path. Soon she was making the right decision on her own. She showed compassion to those who wronged her, and she opened her heart to the plight of others. She was well aware that people referred to her as the Evil Queen behind her back, but that name soon fell out of favor for better sobriquets. The Kind Queen was her favorite. Generous but not too boastful.
When she arrived in her throne room she was treated to the unexpected discovery that Emma White was perched on the edge of her throne. The knight was bent forward, elbows resting on her knees and hands loosely clasped together as if she had been waiting for a very long time. She wore a white shirt with a golden apple clasp at the collar. The sleeves billowed like wings, but her brown leather pants seemed to have been sewn onto her to make a better fit. Her hair was pulled back but loose, letting her blonde curls rest on her shoulders.
Regina paused only a single step as she entered the room but recovered quickly. "I thought you would be gone another seven days."
"It was a false lead. Godfather Death won't be found any time soon. So I thought I would come back here to regroup." She stood and Regina noticed a spot of red on the right side of Emma's shirt, under her arm. Her eyes flashed, and Emma looked down to see what had gotten her attention. "Oh. That. Brambles. I bandaged them up after it happened, but I guess it soaked through them. I'll see the physician--"
"No," Regina said. "I'll tend to it. Come with me."
She led Emma to a small room hidden between the throne and the main corridor. It was a makeshift apothecary's den where the king or queen could be rushed after an assassination attempt. It was fully stocked with herbs and more modern types of medicine, and Regina indicated that Emma should sit on the small cot while she prepared her tools. Regina knew that she could mend the flesh with a simple sweep of her hand, that magic would knit the wound together faster than any needle or thread. But Emma didn't like magic, and a part of her position in Regina's court was to monitor her use of the discipline.
Emma released the golden apple at her collar and unbuttoned her blouse with one hand. Regina turned and helped Emma slip the lightweight muslin off her shoulders so Emma didn't have to twist and aggravate her wound. Emma bent her right arm and crossed it over her chest. She angled her body so that Regina could carefully peel away the makeshift bandage to see the damage. She hissed through her teeth and looked admonishingly at Emma.
"Brambles, huh?"
"I didn't know you'd actually see the wound."
"What did this?" Regina applied a salve to the twin cuts, making Emma hiss before she answered.
"A very angry thief. He told me he had a lead on Godfather Death, but I called his bluff. He kept two of his fingernails long so he could cut purse strings, and he tried to use them on me."
Regina raised an eyebrow. "And what did you do to him in return?"
"I bounced the pommel of my sword on the top of his skull."
"You pummeled him with your pommel."
Emma snickered, then winced as the laugh hurt her injury. Regina finished her work and covered it with a smaller bandage that would be less obtrusive and less likely to allow leakage. Emma kept her arm across her breasts as Regina crouched in front of her, their faces lined up. Regina cupped Emma's face. The face of her strongest ally, a woman who had once been her greatest enemy. Once Cora and Hook had been defeated and Rumplestiltskin was banished, the joined kingdoms knew peace. Emma longed to follow in her mother's footsteps, but Snow was reluctant. She wanted Emma to know a quiet and normal life. So Emma had run away to Regina in the hopes she would find what she'd been looking for.
In the spirit of cooperation, Regina took the girl back to her parents. But Snow was wise. She understood that once Emma started fleeing she would never stop. She gave her blessing to let Emma learn how to fight and hunt. Charming taught her how to swordfight. Soon Emma was strong enough to be knighted, and she requested permission to serve in Regina's court. Snow had her own protectors, and Emma knew she would always be seen as the Queen's daughter if she remained. Snow granted her request and Regina agreed to take the girl under her wing.
Emma earned her way through the ranks until she was officially dubbed the Queen's chief protector. On the night of her induction, Emma snuck away to find Regina on an overlook with a view of the water. They didn't say a word to each other, but the current of the ocean and the wind seemed to push them together. Regina gasped that what was about to happen was wrong, but Emma quieted her with another kiss.
And now, in the apothecary's lair, Regina remembered all the times her knight had joined her in bed, all the late night chills that had been chased away by Emma's body heat. Her protector, her champion, her White Knight. Emma kept her on the straight and narrow path, made her a better person and a better queen. Emma seemed to read her thoughts and smiled slightly and Regina looked away, embarrassed. Emma touched her cheek and forced Regina to look at her. She brushed her thumb over Regina's full bottom lip, and Regina took it into her mouth and sucked gently.
"I came back because I missed you," Emma confessed quietly.
Regina rose from her crouch, still kneeling in front of Emma, and leaned in to capture her lips with a kiss. Emma's thumb fell from Regina's mouth just before it was crushed against hers, and Emma spread her knees out to brace them around Regina's torso. Regina had long ago given up any self-recrimination about being with Emma this way. She and Emma weren't related by anything other than marriage and circumstance. Now she was simply a queen taking her pleasure with her most trusted protector; it was a story as old as writing. It was welcomed, expected, encouraged.
Emma pulled the string that held the top halves of Regina's gown together, loosening it with a practiced twist of her wrist and slipping her fingers inside. Regina flicked her tongue against Emma's top lip and growled, arching her back as Emma's fingers molded to the shape of her breast. She teased the nipple and then used two fingers to pinch it, twisting and making Regina growl low in her throat.
"Harder..."
Emma kissed the corner of Regina's mouth and twisted harder. Regina closed her eyes and her breathing became sharper. Emma pulled her fingers back and pinched the nipple between the tips, watching Regina's face as she twisted. Regina put her hand on the back of Emma's head and grabbed a handful of her thick blonde hair. She tugged and Emma cried out, eyes closed as Regina pulled her hair. Emma curled her lip and Regina sagged forward and kissed her until the curl went away.
As Emma relaxed into the kiss, Regina gently lowered her onto the bed. Emma let herself be laid down and Regina reached down to lift up her gown so she could climb on top of her. Emma reached down and stroked Regina's legs, letting the gown drape her hands as Regina settled her weight on top of her. She moved one leg between Emma's and pressed her thigh against Emma's sex, and Emma pushed Regina's top open to reveal her breasts. She ran the tip of her thumb over the nipple she hadn't twisted and sat up to take it into her mouth, using her teeth and tongue instead of fingers to tease it.
Regina rubbed her thigh against Emma, twisting her upper body to get the gown off her shoulders and down her arms. She put her hand between Emma's chest and pushed her down, looming over her for a moment before bending down and kissing Emma's exposed breasts. She circled the hard buds with her tongue, sucking the pink tips until they were hard enough to bite.
Emma writhed under Regina, grinding down against her strong thigh, digging her fingers into Regina's upper arms as she moved closer and closer to the edge until finally, blissfully, she came with Regina's name on her lips like a moan. She furrowed her brow and relaxed her hands, smoothing her palms up to Regina's shoulders. She laced her fingers behind Regina's neck and pulled her down, kissing the heated flesh of Regina's upper chest. Her tongue slid over the curve of her queen's breast, then back up to where her shoulder sloped toward her neck. She flicked her tongue against Regina's earlobe and they both shuddered.
"Welcome home, my knight," Regina whispered. She moved her cheek against the soft curls of Emma's hair, eyes closed so she could imagine being buried in it. Emma stroked her bare back, alternating between soft caresses and raking her fingernails almost hard enough to leave a mark.
At the beginning it had been so hard for Regina to be good. It was hard to let go of the pain and anger, the hurt and emptiness at losing Daniel. But with Emma in her arms, the knight's breath warm against her cheek, she knew she would be able to maintain a good heart. Decades ago she had stolen hearts, but the White Knight was rebuilding Regina's heart piece by piece. She kissed Emma's temple and held her. She knew Emma was falling asleep, but she was willing to hold her until she woke.
By the time Emma was fully asleep, Regina had followed her into slumber.