Long awaited chapter.
It took me a really long time to shape this into something that hit most of my goals for this part, but even though I am resigned to the fact that I can't do it better, I am still tempted to scrap it and start from the beginning. But, as you see, I am not doing that. So, I hope it works.

This chapter is M for most of its parts, so beware of erotica.

As always, thank you for your support.

Enjoy!

Chapter 28. Part III

Having been released from the artificial surroundings by Gorlois, Regina felt the jarring sensation of becoming aware of her own body. The invoked magic lasted just several seconds more before fizzling out, taking away the bright light that had surrounded her vision, sudden change of illumination making her temporary blind and she crumbled down to the hard floor, dropping both the stone and the dagger – the two objects clattering away from her in the silence that followed the disappearance of the crackling hum of the magic, as her limbs lost their ability to hold her up, having kept her locked in one position for far too long. As soon as she felt her head touch the cold stones of the ground, Regina lost consciousness, her exhaustion overwhelming her in an instant.

It was a loud thunder that forced her out of the dark oblivion, the rumble of it spreading through the stones of the room she was in, vibration of it oddly helping her center her muddled thoughts and hazy vision. Out, she thought through the pain that riddled her mind, she needed to get out. And rest. And find Emma. She needed Emma. It had been so long, for her at least, and she needed to see her love.

First things first. "Mo…" she tried to speak, but instead of the name, all she managed was an unintelligible croak, her throat feeling like she had been swallowing broken glass. Giving up on that for the moment, she clenched her seriously weak core muscles, trying to push her body to her side, and with a throat searing grunt she managed turn to her left, the simple maneuver almost making the hazy room around her swirl, the dizziness overcoming her for a brief time, drops of sweat dewing over her temples. Slowly, she brought her right palm next to her left shoulder and shifting her weight she clumsily lifted her head and upper body, using her left elbow for support when she managed that not so small feat. With the added height she could see the other woman lying on the floor, unconscious, and with the clear stone still clenched in her hand. So, she would not receive help from that side, and Regina gritted her teeth, knowing it would be up to her to leave this infernal secret chamber.

With a tentative control of her drained body, Regina pushed herself to her knees, the move forcing her to make another pause, as the dark spots danced in her vision. Thankfully, because of her time with Gorlois, she now knew how to release the security lock placed on the room, and with ginger and slow moves, keeping herself on her knees, she gathered the objects used in the ritual, barely succeeding in taking the clear gem-like stone out of Morgan's unconscious grip. Grimacing at the pain radiating through her muscles and tendons, she hissed as she grabbed the beautiful wood and bone container with her left hand, irritating the deep cut on her palm. Reverently, she wiped the dagger using her sleeve and placed it inside the box, arranging the stones within it as well, her touch gentle and sentimental as she traced the sharp lines of the quartz. Goodbye, Gorlois, she spoke in her mind, not even bothering to use her voice, not in the mood for one more thing to ache her. With equal veneration, she reached for the Dragon's Blood, admiring its pulsing red color for a moment before lowering it into the box. Carefully, she closed the small chest and bracing herself against the wall, Regina lifted herself to her feet and returned the instruments of her 'instruction' back into their original place, twisting the light crystal to hide the panel. Then, using the wall as a much needed support to stay upright, Regina shuffled toward the small tunnel, struggling through the dizziness and the pounding headache her effort caused her to release the lock on her way into the passage.

As the door opened in front of her, allowing her to finally exit the chamber, she let out a sigh, listing heavily to the side where she was leaning against the wall, glad to have accomplished the first part of her plan – she was out. However, before she could even contemplate the next step, she heard that melodious and emotion-laden pronunciation of her name, the intonation and pitch specific to her beloved. But, it was impossible, wasn't it? Emma couldn't have been there. It was only exhaustion playing tricks with her mind. Right?

She lifted her head, trying to see if her mind had been conjuring hallucinations, the dark edges of her already blurry sight making the already hard task even tougher, but even with the impairments of her thoroughly depleted system, she couldn't mistake the blonde's presence for a mirage, her astonished gasp forming her lover's name on her lips. If anyone could do the impossible, it was Emma, and the Sheriff had already proven that rules were arbitrary coming to her. As the relief of being in the Savior's presence surged through her fatigued body, she felt her already perilous hold on her consciousness falter, losing the ability to hold herself up anymore.

And, even though she knew that Emma would never let her fall without catching her, she was surprised to find herself landing into strong and gentle hold, with arms coaxing her head to rest on the shoulder of her True Love. "I've got you," she heard Emma's whisper as warm breath passed over her face, before gentle lips pressed against the sweat doused skin of her forehead. "I've got you," her beloved repeated firmly, before shifting her gently in her hold, turning her so Emma could place her in a bridal carry.

Under her ear, she could hear the rumble of Emma's concerned low voice as the woman addressed someone else, and unable to open her eyes, Regina let her lover's soothing timbre wash over her. "Can you look her over? And her hand?"

A shadow fell over the half of her face that was turned outwards as warm hands touched her neck, turning her head gently outward as fingers pressed lightly under her jaw. Then the warm fingers skittered over to her injured hand, "She is just exhausted, Geilgeis, both magically and physically, but apart that and the already half healed cut, she is fine." There was a brief pause and the other voice continued. "You can take her to your room and I will join you later with bandages and ointments." As soon as the gentle and soothing voice stopped speaking, Regina felt herself lifted as strong arms supported her weight, curving under her knees and shoulders. But, before Emma could make another step, the same voice from before added softly, "No magic, Geilgeis, not directly." There was something else said but at that point the brunette sank into oblivion.

Emma paid no heed to the knight and the shifter as the two of them rushed into the small room, her attention solely taken with the woman in her arms, as she motioned with her head for the healer to come closer.

Gwen quickly examined the brunette in the Savior's arms, more than pleased with her findings. The cut on the hand had been deep, but it had already started healing, the injured tendons and muscles knitting properly on their own, no doubt aided by magic of whatever the two sorceresses had been doing in the chamber. All that was left for her to do was to cover the wound in healing paste and bind it. As for the sorceress, the exhaustion might require a tonic or two, but Gwen decided to let Emma take care of the woman first before giving them to her. If Regina was even remotely similar to the Savior in regards to healing ability, she might not even need anything but a good rest to recover. Sharing her conclusion with the blonde, she warned the woman about the magic, before turning to see if her Mistress needed help.

Following the other two into the tunnel, the healer's gentle expression turned serious as she knelt beside her teacher, her hands quickly rushing to the prone monarch's neck and face. Finding Morgan passed out on the ground sent a brief spike of fear through Gwen's blood, but the young healer didn't allow it to prevent her from her job. With the help of her knowledge and ability, she realized that the sorceress who had all but raised her was only sleeping, no doubt exhausted by the ritual.

"She's alright," she whispered, stepping back to allow Percival to gather the queen in his arms. "Just needs rest and food," she spoke, helping to arrange the woman's skirts over her legs, the hems tangled by Percy's hurried lift. "Take to her quarters, and I'll be soon, to give her some tonics for recovery." Looking at the knight, she addressed both him and the shifter, sending them away as she remained a moment more, breathing deeply with her eyes closed.

The Savior's anger had shaken her, even though it hadn't been directed at her, and the icy gaze the blonde had pinned the wolf with had made her shudder with terror. Later, when those eyes pinned her down, summoning her to the Savior's side, she couldn't even think, but her feet obeyed with speed she hadn't even been aware of. As soon as she had reached Regina, she had felt the invisible reins drop away from her, but then she had gone on with the assessment of the brunette's state of health, not reacting to the strange power Geilgeis had commanded over her. It had been strange – she hadn't felt afraid or even concerned when the power had guided her to do as it had commanded.

Taking another breath, she pressed her palms against her belly and pushed them downwards, her motion following her exhale, and with forced calm, she opened her eyes and stepped forward, leaving the isolated chamber, her feet pattering quickly as she rushed to leave the Temple, suddenly being alone in the giant room filled with volumes and volumes of books not at all comforting. Gwen reached the stairs to the entrance, gasping in relief as she saw the magical door open and waiting for her to get out. Not waiting a second more in the Temple, she climbed out and took off running toward the village, caring not a bit about the secret opening standing gaping wide.

It was the run that kept her warm against the cold air of the day, her pounding heart able to push the heat of her blood through her limbs so hard and fast, that she could even feel herself overheating in the clothes she had chosen for herself that morning. However, before she could even think of a way of taking some of the layers of cloth of her body in a midst of her breakneck dash, she found herself jumping the steps of the Healing House. And, there, at the door, Keith waited for her, worrying his hands.

"Oh, good, you're here," he blurted out as soon as he saw her running up the steps. "What in the blazes happened?" he asked as he took Gwen's forearm and pulled her down to the working area for the apprentices. "First, Geilgeis rushed inside carrying Queen Regina in her arms like Firedogs themselves are at her feet, baying for their blood, scaring the life out of us, and then Percival appears with Queen Morgan in his hold with Lady Aileen by his side." As he spoke, he followed the woman to her working area because he knew if anyone was to get to the bottom of this, it would be Gwen – Morgan's favorite and most talented healer of them all.

"Is someone with Geilgeis?" the woman asked, not even bothering to try answering the panicked question the young man had asked. She didn't look at Keith as she waited for him to answer, gathering the supplies to make her tonics, mixing the herbs and oils with practiced ease in two large flasks, tossing the straps over her shoulders and remembering to take bandages and some of her special healing paste, she walked back to the ordered shelves, reaching into baskets that held what she needed.

"Yeah," Keith replied quickly. "Briana followed after them."

"Good," Gwen nodded, the answer easing some of the tentativeness she was feeling, being pulled in two different directions. Her Mistress was attended to by the wolf, who was a fully trained healer in her own right, and Regina did seem to be in greater distress. If Briana was there with the Savior, she had a few minutes to drop off the tonic with Aileen, and then focus fully on the brunette sorceress. "Good," she sighed, ready to leave but just before she came to the door, she turned, finding her friend staying behind, bewildered. "If Mistress wants to share what happened today, she will," Gwen finally said something to respond to Keith's mild panic attack. "In the meantime, go to the kitchens – broths, soups, mashed vegetables, as quickly as they can," she instructed him, her voice turning a bit sharper as she assumed command. "Keith!" she snapped as he just stared at her with his mouth wide open. "Go!"

As her friend jogged away, she shook her head lightly before she set of to the queen's chambers. It took her less than a minute to reach the door of her Mistress's suit, and with a light knock she entered in, directing herself to the bedroom, in her hurried walk almost knocking over the man standing only a foot behind the opened bedroom door. She looked up and saw the knight stand there stiffly, his hands hidden behind his back, no doubt clenched in fists, with his eyes closed tightly shut and an uncomfortable expression still hovering over his brows. Before she could even ask Percival what was wrong, she heard a soft grunt coming out of the side of the room where the lavish bed was. And, there, Gwen saw Morgan sitting limply, leaning against Aileen's shoulder while the wolf diligently continued to take off the queen's clothes, and as soon as Gwen saw the naked shoulders of her Mistress she understood the Knight's predicament.

"Percival," Aileen spoke not looking away from her friend, one hand holding the sleeping woman upright, while the other worked the knots of the queen's undershirt corset, "prepare the bath." The knight hummed in acknowledgement and disappeared into the bathroom making sure not to look at their side of the room. "He can handle everything you throw at him, but show him some skin and he turns into a bumbling and blushing boy," the wolf commented under her voice, motioning Gwen to help her with the queen's underwear.

The young healer chuckled softly at the wolf's lighthearted tease, her movements fast and practiced, but still gentle enough so the patient would not feel passing of cloth over her skin. "She is his Queen, and old enough to be his mother," she spoke quietly, peering into the sleeping face of her mentor. "He's not used to seeing her so vulnerable. Neither am I, for that matter."

"And, yet you are not faltering every step while you are helping me take care of her," the shifter noted softly, tossing a robe over the unconscious woman's shoulders, in order to spare both Gwen's and Percival's sensibilities, before she tenderly gathered the sorceress in her arms and lifted her of bed, intent on taking her to the bathroom.

"That's different, I am trained to attend to people in all matters of undress, and I am doing what I am taught," the healer replied, not moving from her spot by the bed. "He wasn't."

Aileen nodded in acceptance, before she looked over the young woman. "I can hold my own here, if you need to go to Emma's," she offered, gesturing with her chin toward the bathroom. "It's not a first time I've done this."

"If you're sure?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

Gwen nodded, not letting a trace of her relief show, even though she believed that the wolf knew what she felt either way. "The food is on its way, and here is the tonic she needs to drink for faster recovery," she left one of the flasks of her shoulder on the table beside bed. "One cup every hour."

A loud murmur of acknowledgement came from the bathroom, Aileen having already gone inside with the other woman in her arms.

Her duty done for the moment, Gwen quickly left and tore down the hall and down the two flights of stairs, her hands holding the flask and her satchel close to her body, arriving to the guest rooms where the Savior and her Queen resided while in Brocéliande, surprised to find the door wide open. "Hello?" her voice sounded as she entered, her brows furrowing. The Savior had come to the House of Healing. Keith had said so, but where was she? And where was Briana?

"In here," she heard the familiar voice of her friend and fellow healer coming from the side where she knew the bathroom was. Despite her hurry, she didn't even reach the washroom, when Briana got out and offered a small smile and a wave in greeting before she left the Savior's quarters, unusual tenseness in her posture betraying her unease in the presence of the two guests.

Gwen shook her head at her friend's shyness and leaving all the supplies she had brought on the table, she undid her cloak and tossed it over one of the chairs, before she walked into the bathroom, expecting to see the sunken pool filled with steaming water. However, what she found inside was not that.

There, by the copper tub she had pulled out for Emma only days before, Geilgeis kneeled, her upper body dressed only in a loose shirt with sleeves rolled up past her elbows, smiling gently down at the woman in the tub, holding Regina's hand to her face, not caring for the cut that had started bleeding once more, no doubt due to prodding by the errant fingers. By all appearances, the now unconscious sorceress had gained awareness some time before Gwen had entered the bathroom, even if it had been only for a short while – it apparently had been enough to alleviate some of Emma's concern and worry.

They got to their quarters rather fast, though Emma hadn't used her magic not even to ease her journey a little bit, Regina's whole weight resting on her arms the entire time. The minute Gwen had spoken her warning about magic, the Sheriff's full attention was focused on the woman in her hold, her body following Emma's desires almost on automatic, muscles, limbs and tendons working in perfect concert to get the blonde from the Temple, across the snow covered paths and through the village, to the Marble Palace, pushing through the tiredness that might have held some grasp over her body due to Percival's practice tactic. Emma hadn't even realized that she had startled one of the healers in the entrance hall as she had used her right hand, the one attached to the arm that held Regina's knees securely, to pry the heavy door open and wrench one of the leafs wide open, storming inside and heading down the stairs, rushing down to her floor, and finally the guest rooms where she and Regina resided at the moment. Only when she arrived to the room, she noticed a girl stumbling after her, trying to match her speed unsuccessfully.

For the moment, the Savior ignored the girl's presence, sinking into her mind, searching for the memory of her own overcharge, looking for clues that would help her deal with Regina's current state. Flashing through the scenes in her mind, she found out that the solution seemed to be rather logical and common sense – easing up the tense muscles from the lack of movement, plenty of rest and nutrients. So, the first step would be to draw a warm, soothing bath not only to work on the coiled muscles of the woman still in her arms, but also to clean twelve days' worth of sweat and grime away.

"You!" Emma spoke with a small sharpness in her quiet voice, addressing the healer in the room for the first time. "Briana, right?" She had garnered the girl's name while she had routed through the memories, and seeing the flicker of surprise in the startled eyes was always satisfying, but this time she didn't have time to enjoy it, needing to put the healer to work.

"Ye-yeah," the girl stuttered, coming one step closer before she faltered, her hands visibly trembling as she held the hem of her apron.

"Fill the tub in there with water," the Savior ordered, consciously keeping her voice gentle, having noticed the tremor in the young woman, and the quickly paling face the second she had spoken to the girl. Sometimes, she really hated her reputation, for all the fear and awe it inspired, it was a nuisance she didn't need to deal with right now. "It should be just slightly hotter than lukewarm."

"Yes, Guh-Geilgeis," the girl said, her face rapidly flushing as she looked away from the Savior, escaping her presence and going into the washroom, complying with the order.

The girl already dismissed from her mind, Emma slowly unwound her arms and laid Regina onto the made bed, making sure not to jostle the unconscious woman. Getting rid of the green tunic and the woolen vest she had been wearing underneath it, she quickly rolled the sleeves of her shirt before she set out to take off Regina's shoes, smirking at the woman's penchant for wearing lace-up high boots. "I guess it's my turn now," she murmured softly as she touched the prone brunette's cheek with tenderness that had been gone from her countenance the moment Regina had gone with Morgan, the gentle fingers tracing the pale skin before she moved on to the rest of the garments the sorceress had been wearing. True, when she had arrived in Brocéliande, brought over by Guardian's power, she had been naked, but when she had been hit with Peter's Curse of Darkness, both Regina and Snow had prepared her body afterwards. Not to mention the times that Regina had taken care of her often aching, tired and entirely too tightly wound body.

So, with gentleness that she didn't show often, Emma undressed her beloved, making sure that her actions didn't strain Regina's body even further and after she was done, she once more gathered her lover into her arms and brought her to the bathroom, hoping that Briana had had enough time to get the bath ready.

"Oh," the girl gasped as soon as Emma stepped inside, the bucket in her hands slipping away and falling into the half-filled tub, creating a splash of water. "Oh, sorry," she flinched, reaching for it instantly, her sudden movement displacing even more water. "Uh…"

"It's alright," Emma said evenly, forbidding herself to clench her jaw, and she walked over and lowered the brunette into the warm water, her forearm holding up Regina's head above the water. "One more bucket should do," she added to the discomfited girl standing beside her, the shaking hands tightly grasping the wooden pail. At her words, the young healer rushed toward the faucet, quick to obey.

"Em…" a soft murmur drew Emma's attention to the woman in the tub, an unbidden smile spreading on the blonde's face as she leaned over. "Emma," Regina murmured again, her head slowly turning to the left, her half-mast eyes barely focusing on the Savior's above her. "You're bleeding," the brunette said with a reproach in her rough whisper, her right palm weakly reaching up, the wet fingers landing clumsily on Emma's left cheek, the one that had been sliced with the sword only a short time before. Geilgeis, surprised by Regina's comment, let out a soft snort, her hand cradling Regina's to her cheek, not even acknowledging the sting the pressure on the wound was creating.

"So are you," Emma murmured gently, glancing down at the injured palm the blonde had purposefully left leaning over the edge of the tub, the scab over the wound almost entirely rubbed away and the cut oozing blood, the large drops dripping off the fingers onto the stone floor, her eyes darting quickly to the approaching healer as the young woman poured the last of the water, before she focused back onto her beloved's face.

"You've bled enough," Regina said, ignoring Emma's words, before her eyes rolled up and she sank back into unconsciousness. Just as the blonde whispered the woman's name, another's voice sounded from the bedroom, and Emma recognized the gentle timbre of her young healer friend. Just as Gwen spoke, the girl beside the Savior replied, getting out of the washroom, a sigh of relief audible in the silent stone chamber.

"How is she?" Gwen asked, going toward the rack of washing necessities, collecting what she needed, while she waited for the Savior to speak.

"She regained consciousness for a moment," the blonde said, confirming Gwen's theory. "I think she's running a fever," the woman added after a moment.

Going to the tub and the patient with her hands carrying what she needed, the healer nodded. "That is to be expected," she said as she passed two small bottles to the Savior, keeping one for herself. "The blue one is for the hair," Gwen noted quietly, taking Regina's injured palm in her hand and started to gently clean it, careful not to aggravate the wound further. While she worked on the injury, Geilgeis washed the brunette's hair, and then, they together washed the rest of the sleeping patient, massaging the tense muscles along, using the slickness of the soap to aid them in their goal.

Afterwards, Gwen managed to coerce the oblivious woman to swallow some of the nutritious tonic while Emma prepared the bed and found some light clothes for Regina to sleep in. Overall, it took them half an hour to get the sorceress situated in bed, dressed and tucked in.

"Well, all she needs now is time to rest and a light meal when she wakes up," the healer commented as she sat at the table, watching the Savior hover by the bed and fussing needlessly with the edge of the quilt.

"Time," Emma grumbled when she stepped away, and joined Gwen at the table, choosing on purpose to sit just so her cheek would be easily reached by the healer and still let her keep her view of the bed.

"Unfortunately, there isn't a quick solution for the fatigue," Gwen spoke reasonably, as she took a look at Emma's cut cheek, having blinked in surprise when the Savior silently offered it for treatment, instead of leaving it alone or healing it with magic.

"But, that is just it," Emma said quietly, careful not to move too much. "You're living in one. To the outside, my recovery would seem extremely fast, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, but I far as I know that is a natural magical occurrence," the healer replied as she used a soft cloth doused in her special mixture to dab at the slice. She paused, peering into the Savior's eyes. "Right?"

"Yes," Emma agreed casually, the secret of the place firmly hidden. "But, the dragons know of magic that can limitedly mimic such occurrence, and Guardian taught me how."

The healer raised her eyebrow before she shrugged. Being capable of doing the magic of other species was supposedly very hard and impossible for most of the magically inclined people, but supposedly, the Keeper of the Balance would be the one to do it with ease. "If you can do it so it doesn't hinder her recovery, I see no issue with it," she said finally. Then, after scooping some of her healing paste on her forefinger, she applied it to the cut. "You were quite quick at dodging that sword," she commented quietly as she made sure that the paste was spread evenly.

"Obviously, not quick enough."

"I saw you, Geilgeis," Gwen said insistently. "I saw the moment you looked away. And I saw that the soldier wouldn't be able to direct the blade away from you. If it were anyone else, Emma, I firmly believe they would be headless."

"But it wasn't." The blonde retorted sharply. "It wasn't anyone else. It was me. And, I should've been faster."

Gwen didn't know what happened. It was a simple comment that she had made, and unexpectedly it caused the Savior's mood to change rapidly. "Emma," she tried to calm the blonde in front of her, but the woman just shrugged her off and rose from her chair, her feet pacing the length of the room, right by the unlit fireplace that suddenly was filled with roaring fire, the abrupt blaze of flame surging out of the stone confines startling the healer enough to jump back from it, the chair clattering beside her as it fell over.

"I am the friggin' Savior," Emma spoke cuttingly as she paced. "I had no business playing games with the men lost in time, indulging Percival's ideas about teaching," she added continuing her dizzying walk. Gwen blinked, trying to shake off the shock of the fire as she raised her hands in air in front of her, afraid to approach the angry sorceress. The angry sorceress that was walking in circle. Well, not a circle, but her pacing consisted of five long strides from the table, by the fireplace on one side and the bed on the other, to the opposite side of the room, reaching the wall beside the closed door, and then a sharp turn with five strides back to the table. A pivot, quickly executed by spinning on one heel, and continuing pacing. "What right does he have to test me?" the Savior hissed under her breath.

"Emma," the healer uttered softly. Something happened, this she knew. Something had set the blonde off, provoking the simmering anger that Emma had been suppressing since the Temple. "Geilgeis, please," the young woman spoke as she inserted herself right onto the blonde's path, shutting her eyes firmly and turning her head to a side in anticipation of another eruption.

The Savior turned with a growl ready for the young healer that had tried to speak to her but the second her eyes fell on the girl standing in her way, right beside the fireplace, Emma stopped, feeling her own breath leaving her as if someone had punched in the stomach. The young woman stood there with her hands clenched into fists, the knuckles pale from the effort, with her arms straightened and tensely remaining beside her waist, even though she trembled in fear. But it was the turned head and closed eyes that made the anger evaporate at once. This young woman, this brave young woman was afraid of her in this state and still she placed herself on the collision course, expecting the worst.

Emma had anger issues. You didn't get to grow up as she had without some damage and rage along the way. However, after she had met Henry, she had been keeping control over that, so afraid what it could do to people around her if something was to provoke into reacting with that deeply buried, scarred and wrathful part of her. She had slipped several times, and past several years, more often than not, it had been Regina who would trample all over her defense mechanisms and dig into her weak spots. The woman had a knack for pissing people off, and that was one of the things that Emma loved about her.

Here, in the Enchanted Forest, the Savior had been careful with that bit of herself, and shutting her emotions worked up to a point. The frustrations she had felt during her quests and journeys would feed that anger, but she had learned to transform it, to harness it into additional source of energy, be it for her stamina or her magic. And, even though she was loath to admit it, Percival's training had done a lot for her in terms of managing it. He had helped her, with his endless practices and duels. And, she knew that. She had known that for a while. So why was she so angry?

The blonde stepped toward the healer, drawing herself intimately close to the young woman, leaving only inches between them, but when she raised her hand to touch the other woman's shoulder, she hesitated. Then, after a few awkward moments of silence, Emma withdrew her hand and cleared her throat, not knowing how to start. "I," she exhaled, closing her eyes slowly and opening them again, before she tried again. "I apologize," she said to the healer, who was now looking at her with wariness, the sharp eyes peering into hers seeking something that Emma honestly didn't feel she could offer. But, a moment later, the healer relaxed and nodded, having found something in the blonde's eyes that filled her with relief. The girl walked back to the table, lifting upright her chair and sitting back on it, turning to look at the still Savior.

"What was it?" Gwen murmured just before the silence between them was about to turn uncomfortable.

"Hmm?" Emma glanced at her in confusion.

"The thing that pushed you," the healer spoke, nodding slowly to herself with understanding. "You see, ever since you slammed your fist against the wall in the Temple, you've been seething. But, your loved one's safety took precedence, so I guess you just pushed it down for the time being." Gwen raised her hand slowly, gesturing the chair beside to the blonde before she picked some more of her healing paste, ready to continue her interrupted work. "What was it that brought it back to the surface again?" she asked, her fingers applying the fresh coat of paste over the wound on Emma's cheek as soon as the blonde took her place.

Emma sighed, closing her eyes. "Don't know," she murmured softly. But she knew. It was the last thing Regina had said before falling back to sleep. You've bled enough, she had said and it sparked something in Emma. It was unnoticeable at first, but the spark had flamed the already there embers of suspicion and outright distrust the Savior held for the Queen of Camelot. And, Percival had always been her most loyal Knight. Under his 'care', she had already bled twice, and when all of that had gotten jumbled together, it wasn't hard to see the beginnings of an explosion to follow. It was only the unfortunate comment that Gwen had said that had forced the anger to the fore at that moment. In a way, she was lucky, Emma silently remarked to herself, her eyes regarding the healer with unhidden fondness. She was lucky that Gwen had managed to diffuse her so completely and before anyone had gotten hurt. If it had been Percy, or Gods forbid, Morgan – Emma wasn't sure that they would have survived that. And, the girl deserved better from her, especially now, so she couldn't just lie to her. "Regina said something," Emma offered softly after the healer had finished, wiping her fingers on a still wet rag. "It made me question Percy's motives."

"And, I brought your attention to the cut, which in turn fed the suspicion," Gwen added quietly, as she nodded in understanding. Gathering her things, she placed her fingers over Emma's wrist, attracting the Savior's eyes to her own. "I know you have your reasons for not trusting my Mistress, and I know some of them are even justified – but, know this if nothing else. Percival would never participate willingly or knowingly in any secret plots against the guests of the House of Healing, not even if Morgan absolutely demanded it of him. Especially not against you, Geilgeis, the one that some of the rumors address as the White Knight." She offered a weak smile to the Savior. "There is a reason why his nickname is the Virtuous."

"Thank you, Gwen," Emma replied sincerely, inclining her head toward the young healer.

The healer rose, ready to leave and she brought the flask closer to the other woman. "This is the tonic I mentioned earlier. Since Regina has regained consciousness on her own, even before I fed her the first dose, she doesn't necessarily need it for recovery, but it cannot harm her." The blonde nodded. "Someone should be soon stopping by with the food, try to give her some when she wakes up." Gwen walked slowly around the bed and just as she was about to open the door, she turned, looking at the Sheriff who hadn't moved from her seat. "I just need to ask – the magic you spoke about, did you use it to heal yourself?"

Emma smiled at the young woman, seeing the curiosity glimmer in her eyes, amusement filling her voice. "No, I haven't," she spoke gently, making sure that her words held no trace of smugness. "I just heal quickly."

"Oh," the girl murmured in surprise, before she huffed, discarding the topic entirely. "Well, then," Gwen said, her shoulder moving into a vague half-shrug. "I'll see both of you later," she spoke and left, closing the door behind her.

Emma remained seated at the table, bringing her hands to her face, careful not to wipe away Gwen's healing paste. A deep sigh left her lips as she closed her eyes using her hands to unbind her hair, letting it fall down freely, the golden tresses spreading over her shoulders in waves. Keeping her eyes closed, the blonde breathed deeply and slowly, using the meditative practices to calm her mind, as much as she could, but her tiredness and frustration were proving to be a great distraction.

It all came down to time, she mused as she used the repetitive motion of her hands and fingers through her hair to narrow the focus of her thoughts. She needed time. They all needed time. Time to learn, time to prepare, time to be with her family, time to deal with the fairies, time to find the witch, time… Time she didn't have. If Regina's memories were correct, the brunette had arrived into Brocéliande three weeks before, so by the calculations of time difference between this pocket universe and the Enchanted Forest the two of them had only a week more to do all the things that needed to be done, if they were to get back to their families on the Christmas Day. Of course, they could stay longer, and gain more time, but honestly, Emma was loath to miss another holiday with her children, and she knew Regina was of the same mind.

However, on the other hand, the moment they were to leave Brocéliande, they would be put on a timetable to work against the two threats to their lives, Zelena (which apparently would be Regina's duty to deal with) and the end of the world (that, surprise, surprise, fell under the Savior's domain of impossible feats).

Time.

So, instead of letting Regina rest on her own, Emma planned to enact the ward to speed things along. Plus, there was the whole thing of magic dying, and she needed to prepare her beloved for it – because, as the adventure with the diamond proved, after years of using it constantly, the lack of it can be overwhelming and debilitating.

A quiet knock interrupted Emma's silent ruminations, and she opened her eyes, calling out for the intruder to come in. The door opened and Keith walked in, carrying a large tray in his hands as he stepped carefully toward the table, offering only a small nod of greeting to the blonde. Emma looked over the food the boy had brought, and hummed softly in appreciation. Two cauldron-like dishes, about the size of a soccer ball each, gave out quite appetizing scents, despite the fact that both of them were covered with lids. On the tray beside them were two bowls with two spoons and a loaf of fresh, still toasty warm bread.

"You can place them in the fire if they need reheating," the boy murmured, gesturing to the cauldrons. "It is vegetable broth and mashed vegetables," he added, showing the food to Emma, opening each dish respectively. "Gwen suggested starting with the broth first before the other."

"Thank you, Keith," Emma offered softly with a small smile. "May I ask for a favor?" she spoke when the boy laid everything out for the easy use. At his accepting nod, she leaned back. "When you leave, I am going to place a magic barrier around the room for several hours. Can you warn the others, so no one would try getting it? I wouldn't want anyone to be hurt, and it is necessary for the Queen's recovery."

The young man' eyes widened at the request before he stammered his agreement as he stumbled out of the room, promising to do as Emma asked.

And, as she walked to the door, locking them she enacted her magic, creating the ward along the borders of the rooms, including the washroom and the toilet as well. She planned to use one hour instances for the ward, so in case she needed to leave she could easily bring it down. As the magic of the ward stabilized, Emma sat back in her previous seat and leaned down with a tired grunt, using her hands to take off her boots, carefully setting them beside the chair to clean them up later. Then she took off all of her clothes, unwilling to spend any more time in sweaty and muddy garbs she had been wearing the whole day, tossing the garments into the washroom, to deal with them later. With a slow roll of her neck, Emma rose and walked over to the still full tub of water, and used her magic to change the water inside, knowing that she had more than enough time to finish her ablutions, and ever rest before her beloved would recover enough to wake, and that Regina would need probably more than just the one cycle of four hours.

An hour later, after a brief doze in the hot bathwater, the blonde felt somewhat better, but still feeling tired and restless, her mind stuck on the problems that awaited her outside – outside the wards, out of Brocéliande, even out of the damn Forest. So, despite the fact that she was feeling the pressure from the tasks ahead of her, she shrugged them away, choosing to put them aside for the moment. She dressed into some fresh clothes, forgoing the boots, and sat on the bed dragging herself up to lie beside her lover. Turning on her side, she placed her left hand beneath her pillow, holding it close to her head, while she let her other hand come within mere millimeters from Regina's hand, her fingers curved inward in a relaxed position. Casting her eyes over her bedmate one more time and listening to the measured breathing, Emma allowed herself to sink into a light slumber, confident that she would wake in the event of Regina awakening before the expected time, or when the ward dissipated.

When the almost unnoticeable buzz of the time ward stopped, Emma's eyes snapped open, focusing intently on the woman beside her. Assured that Regina was still sleeping, the Sheriff got up, making sure not to shift the mattress much, and reaching for the skin holding the tonic Gwen had prepared, she enacted another cycle of the time elongation. Measuring out two thirds of a cup she then gently reached under Regina's upper body, lifting her with care. The ministrations brought out soft moans out of the slumbering woman, even though Regina did not regain full consciousness, she surfaced enough for the blonde to feed her without the fear of choking. After the medicine, Emma coaxed the brunette into drinking a bit of water, and even eating some of the broth, all the while the sorceress remained asleep.

After having fed her beloved, Emma quickly set to eat as well, going straight to the mashed vegetables, not in the mood for the broth, as it had featured a lot in her diet since she had found herself on this journey in this world. Then, she returned to bed, repositioning herself back in place, dropping off to sleep almost immediately. While the three hours she had spent sleeping previously constituted as a good and worthwhile nap, since Emma had not been sleeping well during the absence of her beloved, she needed more than a few hours to fully rest. And, being beside her lover provided the comforting assurance that all would be well. The soft sounds of a peaceful breathing calmed Emma's thoughts in a way not even the most diligent of practices of Mulan's meditation forms could. The soothing warmth of the reclined body next to her eased her tense tendons, as Emma finally managed to let herself relax more than she could for the past ten days. And, not to mention the familiar buzz that danced across her skin in the presence of her beloved's magic that grew stronger with each new casting of the ward.

She came to her consciousness slowly. First, there was the familiar feeling of safety surrounding her, before she realized that she was lying down, on a mattress she recognized. Along with the realization that she was in her room In the Marble Hall came the ache that spread through her body, through her muscles. Only then, Regina thought to open her eyes, finding out that she was indeed back in the room she shared with Emma while in Brocéliande and that it was still light outside, although she didn't know what day it was. Turning her head slowly to the side, she felt her lips curl into a smile as her eyes took in the sight beside her.

There, only inches away, was Emma, sleeping. The blonde was lying on her side, with her body very close to her own, and with a dart of her eyes, Regina could see that with moving only her fingers she would be able to touch her beloved after being separated by their duties for so long. But, before she willed her hand into complying, she noted another thing.

Her beloved's face was too pale, a greenish smear covering both the pillow and Emma's cheek, and there, no doubt highlighted by the pale skin, the purpling bruises underscored the blonde's closed eyes. Even asleep, the Savior's face was still pinched, a slight furrow forming on the forehead and while Emma seemed more relaxed than Regina would assume her to be, she still portrayed the all too visible signs of immense stress. And, the words that Gorlois had spoken to her came to her, forcing her to affirm the decision she had come to in the mindscape in regards to Emma's health.

The fact was the Savior really didn't have the peaceful vibe about herself. Since the day she had met her, Regina had been able to sense Emma's energy as something highly dynamic and frantic at times, even in her most laid-back moments. In the moments she had spent analyzing her enemy and later ally, Regina had come to conclusion that the survivor in the blonde, the instincts and behavioral patterns created by surviving and sometimes even thriving in harsh conditions of a child living on the streets of the big city conditioned Emma to be prepared for anything and everything as things could get worse any second. Honestly, she believed that such readiness and constant threat evaluation was one of the reasons why Graham had insisted on appointing Emma as his deputy. Not the main one, but one of the important ones. He had recognized a fellow abandoned child, raised in the wilds, so to speak. And, as Emma had been conditioned from her earliest to respond well to such stimuli, her body and psyche could function with practiced ease where the stress of it would not be damaging to her in the long run. However, the problem was, in the past two years Emma had been battered with the impossible at every step of the way, and a person that had learned to expect creepy guys in the darkened alleys and knowing how to deal with them could not possibly cope with the constant emergence of enemies and abilities that Emma of few short years before had not even been aware of.

Regina knew that Emma would need help in dealing with those kinds of stress, and after several long consultations with the Cricket, she had a feel how to alleviate some of the blonde's emotional burdens, for she had a sinking feeling that her actual burdens would be reserved solely for the Savior.

A barely there touch along her finger brought her out of her ruminations and she looked back to her beloved, finding the eyes she adored focused on her, the color of them still not back to the previous spring green but far away from the grey ones she had found on her first day here. Moving her palm, she took Emma's hand in her own and smiled when the blonde entwined their fingers into more secure hold.

"Welcome back," the blonde whispered in a barely there whisper, the words carried by her exhalation and not even willing to try to speak yet, Regina just pulled on the hand in her own, the simple gesture invitation enough for the younger woman. The Savior drew herself closer and brought Regina into her hold, letting the brunette rest her head on the shoulder as she fiddled with the covers.

"How long has it been?" Regina asked after a while, having enjoyed the simple pleasure of being in her loved one's arms in silence for long enough at the time.

"Since you went in?" Emma's roughened voice clarified as her arms unintentionally flexed around Regina's back. After the soft confirmation, she added. "Twelve days."

"Twelve?" Regina lifted her head as she peered into the shadowed eyes in front of her. It made more sense now, Regina considered. The sleeplessness and worry… "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Four hours," Emma replied, lowering her head to gaze upon the caramel eyes as her lips quivered into a semblance of a smirk. At Regina's incredulous look, the blonde felt herself smile a bit more.

Then a light of realization came to the brunette's eyes. "The dragon magic, that time stretch thing."

"Mhm."

"So," Regina raised her eyebrow, "how long have I been sleeping?"

"Times four," the blonde said simply.

"Sixteen… But, that still doesn't explain how I recovered so fast."

"Gwen mixed up something to help with that, and I fed you some soup after each cycle." Emma leaned her head back, pulling Regina down. "The fact that you were up and moving right after the thing suggests that the ritual fed you back some of the energy it needed."

It did make sense, Regina considered as she nuzzled back on Emma's shoulder. Gorlois had created the whole construct for advancing and storing his people's knowledge. That measure of protection would be pointless if people were to die from the magical exposure. The brunette exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. It didn't matter why she was not as affected as they expected, not when they had much more pressing concerns, it only mattered that she was relatively fine after just a few hours of recovery, leaving them time for other things and other needs. "Did you find anything interesting while I was entrapped in the secret room?" she asked slowly, letting her lips curl at the end, giving her words a slight teasing edge, but when Emma bit the inside of her lip, she frowned in concern.

Ignoring the still present pain in her limbs, she lifted her upper body and nodded gratefully at her beloved who had reacted instantly by placing pillows behind her back. "What happened?" she inquired of the blonde who sat opposite from her cross-legged, her left elbow leaning against her knee while her right hand still held Regina's.

"It has been a long twelve days, Regina," Emma warned softly before she spoke again. "As I told you before you went in, Aileen arranged for me to spend time with Percival in the ring, and considering my state of mind since you went into the Temple…"

"It didn't go well," Regina completed the sentence on her own. "Tell me," she said gently after a moment, squeezing the blonde's hand in support.

"We spent the entire afternoon working out and with each bout I would last longer, but the fact was I was getting tired both physically and mentally and I made a mistake. A small one but enough for me not to catch Percival's blade in time before it cut me across my forearm." When Regina's eyes lowered down to the arm she held, Emma shook her head in answer to the silent question and showed her the unmarred left forearm, releasing the brunette's hand for a moment to trace the long healed wound across the soft skin. Returning her hand into Regina's lap, she grimaced as she considered how to share what had come next in the story. "Because of the blood and pain, and other things, I reacted… badly. I wasn't there anymore, but at the cliff with Midas and I knew how to deal with him, just like I had before." Lowering her eyes away from the sympathetic gaze directed at her she continued, her voice subdued. "It took Percy quite a few moments to stop me from choking the life out of him and to push me down, immobilizing me in the snow. To say that he was angry would be a gross understatement."

"And, your arm?" Regina asked, not really needing elaboration on the flash Emma had had. Hopper had told her some of the symptoms and occurrences she should be prepared for, and she didn't want to draw more attention to it, especially when Emma was feeling ashamed about it.

"Gwen took care of it. I must say the girl is a whiz with poultices and tonics." She shrugged. "Anyway, because he refused to allow me into the ring while I was unstable, I got elected for a regular border patrol as it would keep me busy, and the Wolf thought it would work wonders on my restlessness. So, we set out, but for some reason we started from the harder part of the route, and as it was raining buckets of sleet the whole time we didn't make much progress, going over the unstable grounds took us much more time than expected. Then, it started snowing, hard, and as we sought shelter in the caves, I stumbled upon one of the border stones, and felt its still active magic clearly. Finally, away from the blizzard, warm and dry due to the roaring fire the two men with us prepped, I fell asleep hoping that the tiredness would keep me under till the morning."

"Nightmares?"

Emma chuckled at the unintended double meaning of the word Regina had used to prompt her further. "It was a mare, just not the one you expected. As it turned out, a Unicorn mare with its foal had gotten lost in the blizzard and stumbled off the plateau we were in, landing in thorns and brambles, getting completely torn up. I think, because of the stallion's blessing I had received before and because of wild desperation of the mare, I somehow was able to connect to the unicorn while I slept. And, of course, as soon I realized what was going on, I rushed out into the storm, to Aileen's tremendous delight, and tried to help." She turned her head and gestured to the sheathed sword on the mantle with her chin. "It broke as I used it to slow down my descent down the same ditch that downed the unicorns. Despite her dismay and reluctance to let me out into the blizzard, Aileen helped as much as she could. We got there and I could do nothing for the mare as the thick and hard thorns had destroyed her the moment she got entangled in them. But, I could get the small foal out of it and using the shard of the sword I managed to pull it out of the brambles, bringing it to its dying mother. However, it turned out that the mare's magic and desperation didn't just call out to me, it called the herd as well. When the stallion saw what had happened, he used the magic of his kind to do something to me, and somehow I did something to him that he appreciated very much. I felt lighter and cleaner afterwards and still feeling the rush of the Unicorn magic in me I did something stupid." Emma smiled at Regina's rapt attention directed at her, waiting for the blonde to continue. "I fueled the border-stone, stabilizing its magic."

Regina's gasp was more than enough to bring some color to Emma's sheepish face. "Emma, messing with the ancient magics…" The brunette shook her head in disquiet before she considered what she had learned from Gorlois. Indeed, Emma had been impulsive and it could have gone horribly wrong, but the truth in the matter was that the Savior's instincts seemed to be unusually attuned to the world of magic. Letting that issue aside, she urged Emma to continue.

"Whatever the stallion did to me it stabilized my magic so I brought all of us to the village as rations were dwindling and the weather was abysmal."

Regina frowned and leaned forward, grimacing as she felt her legs twinge with the movement. Waving Emma's concern off, she pursed her lips before she spoke. "So, wait, you stabilized the border-stone?" she asked, her left eyebrow rising up. "Aren't they interconnected?" At Emma's nod, she slowly asked again. "And it's fine now?"

"No one knows," Emma replied with a short nod.

"How? I thought they needed the…" But before Regina could ask her question her words tapered off as her gaze lost its sharpness as she considered what she had learned. "You didn't just stabilize the magic of Tintagel," she spoke softly as sudden understanding came over her. "You gave them yours which would make you the master of the wards around this place."

"Well," Emma started but Regina continued, not even noticing the blonde had said anything.

"And Morgan doesn't know," the brunette said quietly, almost to herself. "Ooh, that is going to sting when she finds out," she smirked as her eyes found Emma's. "And you. The whole reason I went for the ritual was because she needed the Heir for the wards, and you just took them over, making this," she gestured to herself and the bed by waving her hand in an exasperated and quick move, "pointless."

"Hey, I didn't know that was going to happen," Emma replied back, her spine snapping straight and rigid as she looked away from the other woman.

"Of course you didn't."

Emma gritted her teeth as the eye-roll was practically heard with the words Regina said, her lips curling in distaste, but before she could retaliate for the slight, she felt a soft touch over her lips.

"None of that," a whisper followed the touch as Regina drew herself closer to the Savior, her fingers gently gliding over Emma's lips before she brought them to the already mostly healed cut on the cheek. "I know things just happen to you, Emma. And I know that your instincts about these things are rarely wrong." Bringing herself even closer, the brunette lowered her lips onto Emma's, pressing them gently together before she leaned back, pleased to see that her beloved dazed after the soft kiss. As Emma's eyes gained back their clarity, she went on. "I am not criticizing or blaming you, dear. Just, sometimes this thing of yours drives me insane."

"Join the club," Emma sighed as she felt her body relax a bit.

Regina chuckled softly and pulled the Savior to lie down, using her hand on Emma's cheek to guide gently the Savior's head to her chest. As soon as Emma leaned against her, she used her hand to go through the blonde tresses. "How did you find me? And do not even think about saying those words your idiot parents are insistent on spouting every few minutes."

Emma smiled at the sharp words and the soothing motion of the warm fingers going over her scalp. "Guardian," she said. "She shared some things with me and in turn made me return to the village by myself, climbing the cliff-side. I didn't think anything of it at first but when I went back to see why I was directed there I felt the magic of the border-stones and it led me to what I believe to be a secret entrance to the Temple. I couldn't get to you, the chamber you were in was locked away, but I knew where you were and that the ritual was still going on."

"The cliff-side? That must be Gorlois's study then," Regina spoke after a moment, her words prompting Emma to ask about the ritual and what the brunette had learned while in the artificial space, their talk spanning hours (helped by another time ward Emma placed around them) as they simply enjoyed their time together.

In the late afternoon, after many, many hours in the magical bubble of their own, Emma brought down the ward for the last time, needing only a second and a directed thought to cease the soft buzz of the dragon-taught magic. She sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard as she watched her beloved slowly put on the clothes the brunette had chosen for herself, a soft smile dancing around her lips as she saw the woman fussing about the lines of the over-the-shirt corset she had put on.

"Stop smirking and dress for a long stay outside," Regina spoke without turning around picking up a woolen short tunic to wear under her cloak.

Emma chuckled. "Yes, your Majesty," she said, even though she was already wearing a simple shirt and trousers, and leapt from the bed with lazy hop, a swirl of magic enveloping her in seconds before tapering off and leaving her robed in a style she had been wearing while Regina had been in the Temple, as she walked up to Regina in sure steps, her boots freshly cleaned by the magic. She had not been reckless with her magic in Brocéliande, especially not since learning about it dying off in the Enchanted Forest, but Regina's appreciative looks when she turned to take her in were worth the hassle, and even then, she had only magicked the clothes on, she hadn't created new ones.

"Dapper," the queen spoke passing her hands over Emma's shoulders, absently noting the strength that radiated from the blonde's frame, before she placed her palm over the blonde's heart. "You look at home in the clothes of this world, Sheriff Swan," she said with a wistful edge as her fingers tapped out a soft rhythm against the chest. "Almost as if you were born to wear them."

"Regina." Emma frowned at the nearly somber words that the brunette spoke and quickly she placed her hand under Regina's chin, bringing her face up. "I may have been born here, but I doubt Snow would tolerate me in men's outfits." Leaning in, she whispered softly over Regina's cheek, "I doubt I would look as dashing in one of the monstrosities she would have me wear," before she pressed her lips to the skin there, remaining in place for a short moment before retreating. When she leaned back, she found Regina's eyes closed.

After a few seconds passed the brunette opened her eyes, the warm color of her irises turned into molten dark chocolate as she sighed, her hand clenching the clothes over Emma's heart. "You underestimate your splendor, my dear. And your mother's desire for you to be happy." Shaking her head before Emma could comment about the princess, Regina continued on turning away. "But, that's neither here nor there."

Emma hummed noncommittally, waiting for her beloved to say what was on her mind, her hand idly playing with the loose dark tresses that were reaching shoulders, still slightly damp from the quick bath the women had taken just an hour before.

"We should be seen and if Morgan is not out yet, that is even better," the brunette said seriously. "I have a bone to pick with that woman and I intend to do so from a better position." She tilted her head for a moment and glanced over Emma's frame as she considered something, her thoughts turning heavy, bringing a frown to her face before she purposefully looked away and smoothed the lines of her forehead. "Then, I suppose you could direct me to your whiz of the healer. And, I need to speak with Guardian about a thing or two."

"She must've ticked you off really good if you are willing to play such games," the blonde noted with interest as she reached for the twined leather belt to tie it around her middle over the tunic. The loud snap of the dagger sliding back in its sheath was heard in the room and the Sheriff adjusted the belt before she turned back to Regina. "As for Guardian, she is in the valley below," Emma added pointing to the window with her chin while their eyes met in the looking glass. "Unless you're up for rock climbing, we need to find Shadow, or beg for horses." She didn't ask what Regina had in mind trusting the brunette would tell her in due time, but she couldn't help but notice the pensive regard her beloved had for her, the concern had been quite clear in the dark eyes passing over her before the woman turned away. However, keeping her silence on the topic, Emma took the quiver and bow Percival had given her, holding them both with her left hand, because the woman had mentioned they'd be outside for a while.

"No begging."

"Yeah, I figured."

Regina finished with dressing, pulling on her gloves and she then pivoted on her heel away from the mirror, placing her hand on her hip. "Well?"

The Savior took a moment to gaze upon the figure of her beloved presented in front of her. The brunette used her clothes quite well to paint the picture of danger and power. The black tunic was tightly draped over Regina's shoulders and torso, the elaborate stitching and silver fastenings drawing attention to her bust that showed just enough to tantalize and distract but not enough to skirt into indecency. It flared slightly at the hips and reaching just under the line where thighs meet buttocks, it highlighted the woman's figure perfectly. Below the tunic, skintight leather enveloped the shapely legs before disappearing into the knee high laced boots. Three fingers wide belt with a large silver buckle went around her middle with an almost unnoticeable dagger strapped to it.

It wasn't the black of her garments that drew eyes. The streaks of white that were glimpsed under pulled attention, and the brunette artfully arranged her clothes so that with every breath she would take, the lapels and sleeves of her shirt would peek out from underneath the tunic. It was a tactic Emma was quite familiar with, as Regina had used it on her several times while still in Storybrooke, successfully at that.

"They won't know what hit them," Emma whispered, meeting the dark eyes with a smile.

"Perfect."

Collecting their cloaks, the two women left the sanctuary of their room. Since Emma was more familiar with the layout of the House of Healing, she led the brunette first to the small day room where she was sure to find Gwen, giving Regina several minutes of privacy with the healer as she waited for her outside, accepting the large shoulder bag Regina had come out with from her visit with Gwen without a word, placing the strap over her shoulder, glancing with interest over the ruddy cheeks the healer had sported as Regina had left the room; then she led her beloved to the ground floor where the Mistress of the House had quarters, opening the door without even bothering to knock, letting her beloved sweep inside first while she remained slightly behind, her eyes watching out for any obstacles the former Evil Queen might encounter.

The two were greeted with "What are you doing here?" from the startled shifter as she jumped to her feet and stepped toward them to stop them from entering the bedroom.

"Is she awake?" Regina asked, ignoring the question and skillfully avoiding Aileen's outstretched arm.

"No," the shifter spoke after a moment of confusion, frowning as she actually looked at the woman in front of her. The sorceress stood there without a trace of the magical exhaustion on her face. "She's still unconscious."

Regina glanced back at Emma lifting her eyebrow as her lips curled in victorious smirk. In turn, Emma just offered her a crooked smile before she opened the door, letting the brunette go out first and leaving the she-wolf without a word. "She is not awake yet," Emma murmured as they donned their cloaks and she pushed the front door open. "You were coherent already in first half hour and you said your part of the ritual was much more demanding." As she closed the clasp on her cloak beneath the chin, the Savior placed her weapons on her back while pushing the bag Regina had given her to her side, doing a quick twist to check her mobility.

"I am probably used to the large amounts of magic streaming through my body, especially after all the practice I had with you and alone," Regina said, tossing her hood on against the harsh wind as they walked down the steps of the Marble Hall and crossing through the village toward the stables. But, before they went in, Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath calling up her magic, having a feeling that her four-legged friend was not even close to the stables.

"Wait," the blonde murmured reaching for Regina's forearm. "She is west from here, ten or twelve miles up."

"Can you take us there?"

"Hold on," the Savior spoke after nodding, pulling Regina closer to her and willed them to the small clearing where she could feel the magic of the Gallants, letting her magic guide them to the closest available place near Shadow to appear in. As they rematerialized in the field, the brunette gasped and squeezed Emma's arm hard.

"When I said to take us there, I didn't mean right in the middle of them," the queen bit through her teeth, slowly shifting away from the spot they had appeared in. Only a foot away from the two of them, two stallions were stumping the ground with their hoofs and neighing furiously at the intruders, ready to trample them in an instant. "We need to leave," she spoke softly pulling on Emma's hand but the Savior did not move apart from directing a calming look at the woman beside her.

"Trust me, we're fine."

And they were. In seconds, Shadow appeared by Emma's side, her arrival calming down the two protectors and the stallions hesitantly moved away, still watching the intruders. However, Shadow wasn't the only reason the males stepped away. It was the presence of the pure white stallion to Shadow's side that calmed the herd most of all. It was the leader of the group, Emma remembered, the one horse that had snickered at her before, his intelligent blue eyes crinkling in the dimming light of the late afternoon as he trotted over, slowly circling them while Shadow came to Emma.

"Hello, girl," Emma offered to the mare, who snorted and bumped the blonde's shoulder in greeting before offering her forehead for a scratch. "See," she spoke to Regina as she patted and scratched her trusted friend, "nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about," Regina mocked under her breath as she kept herself close to the Savior, her eyes pinned onto the stallion who was approaching her slowly but insistently. "Emma," she murmured, pulling on the blonde's arm to get her attention. Yes, she was better equestrian than the Savior but she had never been so stupid or reckless enough to find herself in the middle of a wild herd, her very presence threatening the horses around her, and she didn't like the way the blue gaze of the leader of the Gallants followed her every move while the horse inched closer to her.

However, the blonde didn't react to her irritated tone. Instead, the Sheriff vaulted herself onto the black mare, still talking softly to her friend, the murmuring whisper too low for Regina to understand. But, before Regina could hiss out Emma's name once more, the Savior turned to her and took in the situation before she chuckled. "Oh, Snow is going to love this!"

"What are you talking about?" Regina asked, the unexpected reaction from the blonde drawing her attention away from the stallion who had stopped right in front of her, staring at the brunette and not moving.

"He means you no harm, Regina," Emma said with amusement, chuckling again when the stallion snorted, shaking his head sideways as if insulted. "In fact, I believe he has chosen to allow you to ride him."

"Is that true?" the former Evil Queen turned to the Gallant and asked getting an elegant nod in return. The brunette came closer to the magnificent steed and offered her ungloved hand to the stallion before she used her fingers to push the pure white forelock of the horse's forehead, gently rubbing the space between the vivid blue eyes. "Aren't you gorgeous," she whispered to him as she looked over his sides and spine, using her hands to further inspect the perfect lines of the stallion and chuckled softly as she saw the horse preen at her words. "And, humble too," she noted with humor before she returned to the front, her uncovered hand sliding over the horse's forehead down toward the muzzle. "Should I choose a name for you, as well?" And if a horse could shrug, it would look just like the gesture the white stallion offered her before he turned his side to Regina, urging her up with his head.

She mounted him with enviable expertise, her jump appearing more dignified than Emma's scramble, and seeing her beloved's poise on the white stallion, Emma chuckled shaking her head. "Figures," she murmured. Of course, she would look regal even riding bareback on a horse.

After a moment spent situating herself and putting on the glove she had removed earlier, Regina nudged her ride to step beside Shadow, using the light pressures of her knees to direct her newly gained friend and steed. "Wait a minute," she spoke suddenly as she reached for the blonde, grabbing her forearm to stop her movement. "How did you know what he wanted?" However, she didn't allow Emma to answer but continued on with her own explanation. "You can feel them, sense their intentions."

"Their magic is similar to that of Unicorns," Emma simply said as if it answered Regina's supposition. And, it did, the brunette concluded after a short rumination. The Savior had received an unprecedented gift from the Unicorns, and if her theory was correct, the Blessings carried with them the ability to use the magic of the particular Kind. And, Gallants did come from Unicorns, so it would be reasonable to assume some of their magic followed the rules of the Unicorn magic, the magic that Emma could understand and use. "And, I knew that Shadow would warn me if something was wrong," the blonde added with a shrug, followed by a backward glance from the black mare as Emma's Gallant apparently agreed with the Savior's words.

"Oh."

"I would not have done it if I thought you'd be in any danger, Regina," came the soft rebuke before Emma clucked her tongue, urging Shadow forward in a faster pace, the move sudden enough for the blonde to advance several dozen yards before Regina commanded her steed to catch up, wisely choosing not to respond to Emma's well deserved admonition.

In fact, Regina let the silence drag on as they rode down to the valley, but after a while, she broke it with a softly muttered apology, spoken just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of their ride. Emma nodded in reply, the sharpness of her head move softened by the way she reached for Regina's forearm, squeezing it gently, somehow managing to hold the position for several moments despite the fact that the Gallants were moving very quickly through the forest.

"You're quiet," the brunette noted after another period of silence passed between them, this time a briefer one, using the slightly slower gait of their steeds to pick up the conversation between them. Proving Regina's point, Emma only shrugged with one shoulder, glancing toward her beloved in askance. "Is it possible your trials here have taught you patience?" Regina teased gently, watching the Sheriff beside her slowly smile in response.

"I know the weight of assimilated knowledge on one's mind, Regina," Emma spoke after several seconds. "I know how much focus it takes to keep the buzzing and overwhelming thoughts in a semblance of order." Once more, she reached over and this time she took Regina's hand out of the white stallion's mane and entwined their fingers before she brought them to her cheek, pressing the leather covered back of the brunette's hand against her wind chilled skin before letting it go, knowing the dangers of prolonging such position during the ride. "You've been in that mindscape with Gorlois for a very long time. I don't doubt that during your learning session, he taught and told you many things, especially when you consider the centuries of knowledge at his disposal." She smirked at the brunette beside her. "It is not so far out of realm of understanding to think that this abrupt need to find Guardian, another long living magical teacher of sorts, is something that being under Gorlois's tutelage could have sparked."

Regina huffed quietly at the well-reasoned points the Sheriff presented and shook her head wryly. "I love you, you know that?"

"Kinda have proof," Emma offered with a wide grin, patting the place above her heart with her right hand. "True Love's Kiss and all that."

Seeing the glimpse of the Sheriff from the past in the playful response, when she had not been so weighted with the burdens of her station warmed Regina's heart, drawing an affectionate smile out of the brunette, it dimming slightly when Emma shifted in her seat and her face slid into a more serious countenance.

"We're here," the Savior said as she pointed toward the part of the valley that was devoid of plant life, hard packed earth and stone making the hooves of their Gallants echo as they ambled forward. There, where only moments before was nothing but rocks, appeared the dragon, her sharp eyes watching them come closer before the steeds stopped as if commanded. "They won't cross the circle of protective magic without explicit invitation," Emma spoke to Regina in low tones as she dismounted. "This has always been the domain of dragons and they respect that."

"And, when we need to go back?"

"They'll come if we call them."

Regina swung her leg over her stallion's withers and slid down before she turned to him, her hands going instinctively to his cheek and forehead. "Will you come?" she asked softly, peering into the intelligent blue eyes. When he quietly snorted and pressed into her shoulder in what she could see was a confirmation, she murmured her thanks and went over his flank with her hands, entranced by the manner his coat seemed to gleam in the late afternoon twilight, providing sharp contrast to the black leather of her gloves. It seemed otherworldly and it instantly made her remember the legends of ghosts and creatures living in the forests of this place, spawning many stories and cautionary tales. As she watched him, she realized that she had found his name. "Spirit," she murmured. And, it fit. An apparition, fleetingly fast and uncatchable, but with presence that is undeniable and unforgettable. And the horse apparently agreed, rubbing its muzzle over her shoulder.

"It suits him," Emma spoke quietly from behind her as she came closer to the other woman. "Spirit and Shadow."

Letting the Gallants leave, the Savior guided Regina over the protective circle and brought her to Guardian, her steps slow and careful. When they came within several yards of the hulking dragon, the blonde offered Regina an encouraging look before she bowed her head to the dragon and closed her eyes in greeting.

"Welcome, Knight," Guardian rumbled softly, her neck craning and bringing her head in front of Emma's just in the right position to flick her tongue to the center of the blonde's forehead, the simple but expected gesture causing a small flare through Emma's magic as it entangled with the dragon's for a brief moment in recognition. Large head shifted a bit up and swiveled toward Regina. "You've found your mate," the dragon spoke before returning her golden eyes to Emma's, the slow rumbling voice carrying an edge of amusement. "As promised."

Then, the large eyes focused on the brunette. "You wished for counsel?" The dragon said gently, shifting toward the former Evil Queen, her every movement followed by the sound of her talons scraping the rocky floor of the place. Regina nodded in silence, watching the glorious beast come closer to her. She had seen the huge dragon before and even had been close to her, but she was still in awe of her, amazed by the supremacy, not only magical but physical as well, the dragon radiated. Even if she could ignore the presence of such magical behemoth's power, she would be hard pressed to stay cold hearted with the dragon's exquisiteness. "Your mind is troubled," Guardian noted, focusing more intently on the woman in front of her. Then, after a moment of deep inspection, the dragon's head swiveled back to Emma, considering her before initiating a shallow mind bridge.

"Your mate seeks privacy, Knight," Emma heard in her mind, but she did not react outwardly, having already felt the familiar taste of the mind magic. "Will you grant it to her?"

Emma looked up into the intense eyes peering at her, darting her own to Regina before she connected back with the dragon and slowly nodded, her reluctance only fueled by her desire not to be separated so soon.

"It won't last long, Knight," the dragon soothed mentally. "And, there is a pair of wild hogs not far from here if you need something to keep you occupied."

"You want me to go hunting?" Emma replied in the same way, the only outwardly sign of her surprise a raised eyebrow.

"Food will be appreciated, Knight," Guardian remarked softly, her voice still only heard by Emma. "By you most of all, it seems," the dragon added as she looked up into the already dark night sky. "You won't be going up to the village soon."

Emma furrowed her brow at the dragon's words. "You know what she wants to ask you?"

"She still needs to learn to guard her mind properly," Guardian said softly before turning her head toward Emma. "Go. Hunt. Your mate is safe here."

The Sheriff grunted in acceptance, breaking the connection with a sharp snap of her magic before she approached Regina. Leaning into her beloved's figure, she dropped the large bag by the woman's feet and pressed her lips to the brunette's cheek. "I won't be far," she whispered into Regina's ear, gently rubbing their cheeks together before she stalked off in the direction Guardian indicated, the loose pebbles and earth grinding and creaking under her heavy stomps.

"She is angry," Regina murmured sadly, as she watched her lover leave.

The dragon settled down in front of the brunette, huffing in disagreement and letting steam come out of her nostrils, her wings fluttering restlessly, folded against her back. "You know better," the dragon spoke with sharp reproof, focusing on the woman in front of her.

Regina grimaced at the low growling voice directed at her and nodded in acquiescence. Bending her knees, she lowered herself into lotus position, her hands flicking the cloak behind her. "I do," she whispered, her head bowed as she brought her hands onto her knees. "She is frustrated more than she is cross but that anger is still strong." She looked up. "That is something I actually wanted to talk to you about."

Guardian only blinked at her, making Regina awkwardly clear her throat before pressing on. "When I, uh, when I entered Gorlois's magical construct, it gave me a lot of information on this place. It, or rather he told me about a certain cavern that I should find…" She watched the dragon, hoping that she would know what she was talking about.

The thing was Gorlois had mentioned the secluded cavern only as an interesting tidbit about the valley in Brocéliande, a both natural and supernatural formation that had served the dragons and other magically inclined species for eons. He had spoken about it when he had spoken about the members of four Kinds that would gather in Brocéliande in times of strife for a summit or simple meeting. Having four vastly powerful and incredibly diverse magical Kinds in one small place was always a recipe for disaster, with their magicks interacting so violently with each other. What was special about the cave, or rather meeting grounds (for as Gorlois had said, it was big enough to host several members of each Kind, including fully-grown female dragons) was the fact that due to convergence of several magical phenomena in the place, along with specific mineral composition of the rocks in place, any magical outburst within the confines was in effect nullified without outright suppressing magic in hosts. However, to Gorlois's knowledge the space had not been used under Tintagel purview since Cador's grandson's grandson, so Regina didn't know if Guardian knew of it.

But the dragon remained quiet, her luminescent eyes peering at her with indulgence.

"I thought," Regina added softly, feeling more unsure about this by the minute, "I could use the cavern to help Emma…"

Guardian blinked slowly before she passed her tongue over razor sharp teeth. "Emma's trouble is not related to magic, not directly," she spoke and it was the only confirmation that the dragon knew what Regina had been talking of.

"I-I know that," Regina replied, hating that she could feel the hot embarrassment licking her skin, something that she hadn't felt in a long time and not since before she had orchestrated the murder of her husband. "But, the only way I can think of to help her could cause her magic to flare," she added insistently.

She expected the dragon to scoff at her or to outright deny her, but what Regina didn't expect was for the mammoth being in front of her to push into her mind, slipping easily within the borders Gorlois had taught her to erect. "The magic is not the problem," she heard the familiar voice in her mind. "Nor is your ability to help the Knight with her frustration," the voice remarked suggestively. "The Savior's mind and her emotions are protected by much better shields that even you know, shields that even the magic of dragons cannot pass through. And without solution for that, even the cavern you seek cannot help you."

Regina felt her shoulders slump and her head sink low as the presence retreated from her mind, Guardian effortlessly proving her point. The master of Mind Magic had simply entered her mind despite all the instruction from Gorlois and if Guardian could not conquer Emma's walls, what chance did Regina have – a novice in the arts?

"But how can she survive her burdens with such a handicap on her?" the brunette said quietly, her voice breaking at the last word. "How can she withstand the pressure of her calling, of being the Savior?"

"Even with the knowledge of Tintagel and such intimate awareness of your mate, you ask the wrong questions," Regina heard the rumbling voice say. She glanced up and saw the dragon stare at her, the domineering hulk of the beast towering above her. "She is the Savior," the dragon growled lowly. "Her survival was never in question. And the burdens she bears she chooses to carry. But, think on this – is it her duty that causes her anguish? Or, is it something else?"

Instantly, Regina remembered Emma's nightmare, the haunted look the blonde had directed had her hand, hand that had strangled Midas. She remembered the Sheriff's words about slaughtering a thousand men. She remembered Emma's guilt and she understood. The blonde carried the perceived stain of her deeds wrapped around her soul, her reluctance of accepting them as justified and necessary part of the war she had been fighting prevented her from letting it go, instead choosing to shoulder the weight of her actions as a penance – her own conscience destroying her from inside. "How do you force someone to accept forgiveness?" Regina asked softly, tears springing into her eyes as she realized just how hard the task she had set before herself actually was.

"There is a way," Guardian offered her before she brought her head to Regina's face, puffing a small cloud of steam over the brunette's body. The dragon then turned her giant body away and started moving deeper into the shadows of her chosen habitat, the impatient flick of her tail startling Regina out of her surprised state and the brunette quickly jumped to her feet, picking up the sack with a low grunt and rushing to keep pace with the beast.

"Go hunt," the Savior griped as she used a clump of snow to wash the blade of her dagger, making sure to clean every speck of blood and dirt from it, not willing to let carelessness destroy such a beautiful gift from Percival, and then doing the same to her gloves. "Keep yourself busy and out of the way, while we discuss important things," she mocked the dragon, while she pushed the cleaned carcass of a boar onto a one sided stretcher she had fashioned out of branches. "Jumping into a volcano, sure, but staying around for a talk, no," she grumbled, stretching her body upward before she placed her cloak back on and sat onto a nearby rock, heaving a disgruntled sigh as she leaned against the tree right behind her seat and wrapped the cloak around herself to ward off the cold that came with the nightfall. After a moment of silence, she just shook her head. She knew that Guardian had done it because Regina had needed a moment in private with the dragon, but it still rankled to be sent away, like a child that was underfoot.

Tossing her head back, she leaned it against the tree behind her, glancing up and hoping to find the stars, but it seemed that the same fog that prevented the people of Dragon's Bluff to see into the valley now prevented her to see the sky. As her eyes found only murkiness, she closed them and let her head fall chin forward, still keeping it against the tree, feeling some of her hair snag on the rough bark behind her. Inhaling deeply, Emma tightened the cloak around her and crossed her arms over her chest, still holding onto the edges of the black cloak before letting warm air escape her lungs in a slow and measured exhale.

She wasn't fair, she knew. And, the dragon had only followed what she had sensed from the brunette. Emma herself had benefited from Guardian's insightful words and advices, why wouldn't she let Regina gain from them, as well? Yes, she had been sent away, but was it Regina's fault that whenever Emma had met the dragon she had been alone, with the abundance of privacy and time?

Emma breathed in gradually, letting her lungs expand fully before she stopped all motion, keeping the air trapped in her chest for a long moment.

The world was ending. It sounded silly when she thought about it that way, but still, the world of fairytales was facing extinction and she was the only one who held the key to its salvation. And, she had only so much time to spend with her beloved and the rest of her family, including the time to prepare and time to get herself to her absolute best before sailing off to the Origin Point, so why was she wasting it by being petty and abrasive, especially when she had known that Regina had something specific in mind for her consultation with Guardian?

She breathed out, feeling the warm mist cling to her cheeks before dissipating into the cold night air.

It didn't matter, she decided, continuing to breathe slowly and deeply. Whatever the reasons, her spitefulness and injured pride were only making things harder and awkward. So, she would do what the blasted dragon wanted her to do and she would hunt until the summons came. And, the physical side of it would only serve to further ground her emotions.

Emma opened her eyes and rose to her feet, swiping off the heavy dark cover away from her shoulders folding it with care before she lowered it down against the rock she had been sitting on. Reaching for her bow and arrows she had laid down while she had cleaned the carcass of her kill, she opened her senses and listened for another prey.

Hunting was something Emma didn't have a chance to do often, as she was usually provided with more than enough food to be properly nourished. However, her godmother had done a pretty good job in instructing her in the ways of the hunter, especially in regards to reading animal tracks and placing snares and traps. Although she currently had no need of the latter, Emma couldn't but spare a moment to send a thought of gratitude toward her friend for teaching her so well, as she easily followed the marks in the spare snow and half-frozen earth. There was one side to hunting that she hadn't really expected to appeal to her, since she was so new to the whole provide-your-own-fresh-meat kind of deal, and that was the very idea of a hunt. It was such predatory feeling of stalking and chasing the prey, almost hypnotic in its simplicity and primitive instinctiveness where she could feel her consciousness recede into a state of calm and she was guided by her baser self. It was a form of a trance, she would later realize, where her rampaging and crowding thoughts would quieten to a non-disruptive murmur, a background noise she could easily ignore. It was a feeling similar to the one she would get on her more exciting bail bonds assignments, albeit stronger and more pervasive. Stalking a lonely wild pig she had tracked down, so focused on the movements of the animal that she lost her all-consuming worries for the future, Emma notched an arrow and pulled the string back and waited for the moment when her game would expose a soft spot for the quick kill.

Just as she was about to release the arrow, the familiar voice broke through her focus and filled the emptiness of her mind. She is ready for you, came in that maternal tone of the dragon's avatar, the simple words completely derailing Emma's targeting and surprising her into sending the whistling projectile way of the mark.

"Damn it," Emma hissed in reaction, watching as the low screech of her arrow frighten her target into a mad run away from her. She wasn't disappointed by the loss of the prey but by the rather distressing way her thoughts surged back into her brain, ramped up by Guardian's innocuous statement. "Ready for what?" she murmured as she returned to her previous spot, picking up her cloak and grabbing the branches to pull her catch back to the center of the valley.

It was a mark of her excellent physical shape that it took her only several minutes more than it had done to traverse the path she had stomped over when she had walked away in fit of pique. Even the heavy load of the half-frozen remains of her hunt didn't slow her much down, despite the ungainly way she had to transport it.

As soon as she came near to the dragon, she mentally received directions for Regina's whereabouts, the dragon skillfully ignoring her questions. Shaking her head at the odd behavior of her mentor, Emma dropped down the branches and left the hog carcass beside the large beast, chuckling lightly at the throwaway comment from Guardian that the meat would be waiting for them when they decide to be finished with Regina's plans.

Following Guardian's short instructions, the Sheriff walked into a dark mouth of a barely noticeable tunnel hidden on the side in the wall of the cliff, letting her bond with Regina guide her through the obscure passage toward a fork in her way. Choosing the left-sided path as directed, Emma stepped deeper into the darkness. It unnerved her, the squashing sense of it, the slight tingle of panic that danced along her spine and the way the sound of gravel beneath her feet seemed much louder in the pitch-blackness engulfing her. However, even though she hated the pressing feeling of the dark around her, she did not use her magic to call forth a light source. She could survive a short walk through a spooky tunnel without help.

After a minute that seemed much, much longer, Emma saw a soft, muted light ahead. As she hurried along she found herself at the entrance into an odd cave, with the air so warm that her winter attire was making her sweat.

It was quite obvious that the space had been artificially shaped, evident by the clear and straight lines of the room she was in. The hewn walls were covered in crystals that radiated light, keeping darkness at bay but still not strongly enough to bother the eyes of the people in the room. The large space was divided in two parts, each side drastically different from the other. On one side, in a space with two precise corners Emma saw a large bed covered in skins and sheets, placed low, only a foot of the ground, two fur-covered seats and a wooden table placed beside the bed in one corner, just as low, and in the other corner a shelf-like space hewn into the wall on the other side of the bed. But, on the other side of the room there were no discernible corners but a small underground spring of hot water, creating a shallow pool with the bottom covered in finely ground sand that glimmered in the lights of the crystals, The pool had a cleverly designed outflow that went into the curved wall on the farthest side of the room. And, right beside the drain was a small wooden door, just big enough for a person to stoop and pass through, that led to what Emma could only assume to be some kind of a toilet.

However, even though the room held some of Emma's interest, most of her attention was on the brunette standing at the center of the room, with hands placed on her hips and back turned away from the entrance, looking at the spring to her left, her cloak and tunic tossed over one of the chairs, with the bag dropped right beside it.

"What is this place?" Emma spoke as she crossed the room to join her beloved, her hands absently taking off her bow, quiver and her cloak, putting it aside, right next to Regina's things, before she took off her gloves and carelessly tossed them away on the table.

At Emma's voice piercing the gentle hum of the ever-flowing water of the spring, the brunette half-turned and smiled at the Savior. Lowering her arms beside her as she lightly leaned into the hard body by her side, inordinately pleased to feel Emma's hands rest at her waist. "It was a private chamber for the head of the Fairies." Feeling her lover shift her head to look at Regina's face, the brunette explained. "As you know, all of the Kinds have their leaders, rulers of sorts. And, this valley was to some extent a meeting point for them, so when the rulers came to serve as envoys for their… people." She hesitated over the word but at Emma's encouraging squeeze at her hip, she continued on, "Each one would have a room made by their Kind's specifications to use for rest and privacy. Guardian felt this one would suit us best."

"For what?" Emma asked, pressing Regina's side gently to persuade the woman into completing her turn, her eyes peering into the dark ones. She noted the origins of the place, but delving into the history of Brocéliande wasn't what was important to her at the moment.

"This room is special," Regina spoke, glancing into Emma's inquisitive eyes. She saw a brief flicker of befuddlement at her non-answer reply but the blonde remained quiet, waiting for her to finish. "The rock formations of this side of the cliffs are so spectacular and unique. You see, they have this amazing ability to contain loose magic, making it harmless as it is expelled out of their users, making this particular side of the valley so useful in holding assemblies with such powerful species." Regina lifted her palm and placed it flat against Emma's chest, seeking connection with the blonde as the Sheriff had unconsciously lowered her hands away from Regina's hips at the mention of wild magic. "Originally, I intended to use the cavern where the Kinds used to gather but Guardian denied me, offering me this place instead," she said slowly, a slight tinge of puzzlement coloring her voice.

The Savior frowned at the words the woman in front of her spoke, considering them carefully against the wealth of knowledge she possessed. "If the room where they met has the same properties you mentioned," Emma uttered slowly. "Then, I can think of why you wouldn't be allowed to enter. Not even I would gain entrance." She let her words sink in first before adding, "Dragon's magic is very volatile when they are just hatched."

"Oh!"

"You still haven't answered my question," the Sheriff spoke softly, reaching for Regina's hand on her chest.

The former Evil Queen came closer to the blonde in front of her, leaning in and bringing her free hand to Emma's neck, she pulled the blonde into a soft and tender kiss before she made one step back, closing her eyes to hide her disappointment at Emma's lukewarm reception, separating them but still leaving them close enough for her hands to remain in place and keep touching her beloved.

What is it that keeps you away from me? Regina wanted to ask, but kept herself silent. That wall around your heart, what is it protecting you from? She let her mind ask questions she wanted to speak aloud, her thoughts directed at the woman in front of her, but she knew that if she spoke what was now going through her brain, Emma would withdraw and the whole purpose of their journey here would be void and the effort for naught. I know you desire me, Emma. Perhaps, even more than I yearn for you. I see the hunger in your eyes, I hear your quickening breath, and your rapidly beating heart. But, still, you keep yourself away. What is it about me that frightens you so? Regina opened her eyes and peered into Emma's, expecting to see the traces of dread hidden within their depths. But, it wasn't fear she found in the Savior's eyes as the blonde watched her warily. And, finally able to see what was keeping Emma's fences so strong she knew how to proceed. "For us to spend some time alone."

"Why?"

"Because, you're angry," Regina replied, after a second of looking into Emma's eyes, her voice tight as her hands kept Emma in place. "And, I won't have it unchecked around Henry and Kyle."

The blonde visibly flinched under Regina's words, only the strong grip on her body stopping her from moving away. "I would never hurt them," she seethed a second after, glaring at the woman in front of her.

"Emma, it's not about hurting them," Regina spoke slowly after she cleared her throat, her voice clear and reasonable. "I know they are safe with you. But the thing is – you swallow your emotions and you keep them so tightly bottled, and the strain of keeping them contained is getting to you. Your anger is seeping out, Emma, and it's making you a ticking time bomb. And, you know that." Softening her tone, she added. "Gwen told me what happened earlier."

"I didn't mean," Emma started quietly, her vexation slipping away at the words of her lover but she couldn't continue, because no matter what she was going to say, it would end up being a worthless excuse.

"I know," Regina soothingly replied, her voice filled with understanding. "The thing is, since you've been here, you haven't allowed yourself to unwind properly, and you've been pushing both your body and your mind beyond breaking point. You know that you cannot keep doing this, not without completely diffusing the pressure building within you. Your control is impressive, and it has served you well considering the circumstances, but now, Emma, your self-control is your enemy. The emotional and mental barriers you've built to protect yourself from everything and your ability to compartmentalize are now to your detriment, Emma, because they are the very thing that is causing you harm." Pulling the blonde into a warm and comforting hold, she whispered against Emma's cheek, "We both know this and that is why we are here."

Closing her eyes, Regina could feel Emma's muscles almost vibrating under her hands. She was pleased that the blonde hadn't stiffened entirely, but it made her heart ache for her beloved, as she knew that only a season before Emma would have relaxed completely into her hug. She took in a deep breath and pressed more firmly the blonde's frame into her, placing Emma's head against her shoulder, guiding it gently so Emma's forehead would lean against the side of her neck.

She needed to be gentle, she reminded herself. Gentle and patient, no matter how her libido or her personality might push her to be aggressive and demanding. Emma needed her to be soft and persevering.

Rubbing her hands over the blonde's shoulders and back, Regina slowly disentangled them and stepped towards the entrance, her fingers deftly engaging the mechanism to close it, wincing at the sudden loud sound of stones grinding as a rock panel slid over the opening. She glanced back and saw the Sheriff stand in the middle of the room, right where she had left her, straight and unmoving as her intense green eyes watched her every move with wary interest.

"Emma," Regina said delicately as she approached the uncomfortable blonde. "I need something from you." Before Emma could respond with the expected 'Anything' she placed her fingers on the dry lips. "Before you answer, you must know first what I want," she added quietly. At the woman's hesitant nod, she pushed forward. "We are here because you are too tense and too divided within yourself to survive much longer under the stress of the roles thrusted upon you, and I know that even you realize that," she paraphrased their previous conversation, and gazed into the still off-green eyes of her beloved, not commenting on the minute flinch of the woman at the softly spoken words, knowing that Emma would come to her when she was ready. But after an awfully long and fraught silence, she saw the acquiescence in Emma's eyes.

"I have an idea how to help you, but for it to even remotely work you must trust me completely and unconditionally, Emma. You need to trust me that regardless of whatever I ask of you, you will be perfectly safe in my care."

Emma gently kissed the fingers on her lips before she pulled them just a bit away. "I trust you," she said solemnly, portraying earnestness that made her face shine in the muted light of the crystals. Before Regina could caution her again, she raised both of her eyebrows and dipped her head lower. "I trust you even when you imply that the cure for me is an oddly situated Dom sex game." Her lips pulled in a soft smile when she saw Regina blink and roll her eyes in realization that Emma recognized what she had in mind. "I trust you even if you need to cause me pain for what you have in mind to work." Regina only smiled wanly, before she shook her head. "Do I need a safe word?" Emma asked, forcing her words to sound flippant but she was more than aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"Do you?" Regina reiterated quietly, waiting for answer with a bated breath.

However, this was the thing with trust, Emma considered. If they were anywhere else, in any other situation, she would have a safe word ready as she well understood how these plays worked. But, Regina had gone out of her way to underline the need for absolute and unreserved belief that the woman would keep her protected and cared for no matter what. And, she did trust Regina, unequivocally and unconditionally. "No," she replied firmly.

Regina sighed in relief, closing her eyes for a moment before she looked at the blonde in front of her, offering her a pleased smile as she caressed the cheek under her fingers, tracing the bone underneath, before a change came over her as she slipped into a mode she would need for this to work. After Guardian had left her to find the private quarters she had considered what her role needed to consist of, and with further realizations about Emma's motivations, she hoped that she had managed to find the right combination. Her back straightened and she pulled away from the Sheriff, keeping herself close but still out of the touching distance. But, before she continued, she peered into her beloved's eyes, needing to ask one more time. "You sure?"

Emma nodded.

Taking that as the full acceptance of what was about to happen, the brunette pushed on with her plan. "Take off your clothes, Emma," she instructed firmly but still kept her voice gentle. Her directive caused the blonde to start a bit, but after a short hesitant pause, Regina was pleased to see that Emma obeyed, her hands going up to the fastenings of her belt. "Slowly and with care," she commanded, stopping the other woman from simply tearing her garments off. "Think about each item you take off. Give it a title, a role you have garnered during your life." At Emma's slightly crinkled eyebrows, the former Evil Queen elaborated. "I think a Warrior would do for your belt, don't you?" she spoke, allowing her commanding and sensual presence to surge forward, giving a certain tone to her voice. She knew Emma would not speak, unless the answer was demanded of her. She was glad to have that benefit of their mind melds right that moment – Emma had seen her own memories of sex escapades she had been in during her rule as the Evil Queen, and instinctively she had followed one she had implemented most often. "And as you take it off, I want you to shed the title of warrior from you, put it away from your mind, for here, you are not."

At those words, Regina saw the blonde stop for a brief moment of time she could almost convince herself she had imagined it, but she knew the pause was real. However, Emma resumed with untangling her belt and removing it from her hips. As soon as the leather was away from the Sheriff's body, Emma offered it to Regina, holding it out in both hands, almost reverently. The brunette reached out and accepted the offer, smirking proudly at her beloved when as soon as the belt left the blonde's fingers, Emma's body lost some of its intensity and buzzing energy. If it were anyone else, Regina would speak a praise, or offer a simple 'Good girl', but doing it to Emma would backfire so hard that any other interaction would be incredible awkward. So she placed the belt on the small table carefully, right next to Emma's gloves and returned to her previous spot.

As Emma disrobed, Regina observed patiently, offering various titles for each vestment, receiving it from the woman in front of her, folding it up and placing it on the chair where the rest of the things were. "In here, they don't matter. In here, they don't exist," she said as Emma removed her pants and boots. "Let go of the worries and burdens the worlds have burdened you with. Here, they have no power. Here, worries of a Mother do not exist, as well as the duties of a Royal. While we remain here, there are no regrets of a Leader, no challenges of an Enemy, envy of a Sister, devotion of a Friend, heaviness of Power, guilt of a Knight, expectations of a Daughter, abandonment of an Orphan. While we are here they have no hold on you." As Regina spoke slowly and deliberately, she watched the blonde comply, with each garment removed the blonde seeming less consumed with the frantic energy that had seemed to envelop her, despite her physical stillness. "There is no Savior, no Sheriff, no White nor Black Knight, neither Keeper of the Balance nor any other role you have been forced to play. Shed them all away until all that remains is the woman I have met that night at the Tripoint – my lover."

When Emma was down to her underwear and slowly untying the fastenings of her shirt, Regina could feel her own breath leaving her lungs in a staggered exhale, leaving her slightly dizzy at the sight in front of her.

She had seen Emma's naked body before, of course, and from the moment she had met the blonde, she had known that the woman was hot, infuriatingly sexy even with her tank tops and skinny jeans. Once the blonde had stayed in Storybrooke and started hanging out with Henry and others of the townsfolk, Regina had seen the beauty in the formerly orphaned scrappy Deputy, and shortly after Graham's death the Sheriff. Later, as they had grown closer, the brunette had often been left thoroughly amazed by the way Emma caused her body and heart to react. It had been here, in the Enchanted Forest that she had finally gotten the chance to appreciate the delicious marvel that was Emma Swan, and it had left her forever imprinted on the blonde hero and honestly, addicted. The long separation, and later, Emma's infirm state had done nothing to limit and lower her love and attraction she held for the woman, only to slightly dull the sharp edges of the constant need she had for her beloved. But, at this very instant, seeing the blonde almost naked and bathed in the soft light of the crystals, she felt her body warm right up to the feverish levels, with sweat breaking out over her already damp skin, not at all helped by the heat radiating from the hot spring in the room.

Forcing herself to remain still and breathe, Regina glanced up, worried for a second that her inability to completely clear her mind from the mist of arousal wasn't caused by her lover's exquisite presence but due to the lack of air in the closed chamber. However, the ventilation shafts, similar to those in the secret chamber in the Temple, were still there where she had seen them the first time she had looked around the room, small dark rectangular holes burrowed into the carved ceiling. With hardly wrought focus, she could feel the fresh cold air coming down in barely there gusts from them, supplying the oxygen to the room and keeping the hotness from the spring from overheating the space. It would seem that the sudden surge of heat was due to her insane levels of attraction to her beloved.

Patience, Regina, she admonished herself mentally, as she returned her gaze to the blonde in front of her, feeling her chest constrict at the sight before her. Clenching her hands into tight fists and keeping them lowered down for a moment longer, she watched the woman bring her shirt within Regina's grasp, the movement of those pale arms slow, almost languid but also Regina could not help but get a sense of reverence coming of the blonde holding up the off-white garb. Releasing one of her palms, Regina lifted her arm measuredly, careful not to move too fast and risk touching Emma's fingers, for she believed in that very instant that if she were to contact that inviting skin, she would lose all her tenuous control over her libido, and more importantly the situation. She caught one end of the shirt and pulled, letting it spill out of Emma's hands, purposefully tugging on it gently in order for it to slide over the blonde's palms and knuckles in a soft, teasingly long caress. When the shirt was completely out of Emma's possession, she laid it over the back of the chair, taking the moment to gather her composure.

Regina turned around, leaning on the back of the chair with her thighs, affecting tranquility and complete control over herself and the room. And, she watched. There, barely four feet away stood Emma, covered only in this world's version of undies, her arms relaxed beside her sides and her loose golden hair falling down, covering her shoulders. Regina didn't expect the blonde to be demure or shy, far from it, really, when one took into consideration what Emma had been through, but as she let her eyes intently glide over the expanses of pale skin, she saw Emma stand there, unbothered by her open regard. Well, not completely unbothered, Regina noted wickedly as a smirk pulled on her lips at the sight of rosy flesh pebbling under her insistent gaze.

The woman in front of her seemed to get more beautiful each time she saw her, Regina thought as she let her eyes roam over the exposed skin, noting the well-outlined wiry muscles that exuded strength along Emma's limbs and torso, the visible definition of the blonde's belly and hips making her mouth water and drawing her attention to the one place that was hidden by a rudimentary grayish cloth. Blinking away the haze brought on by a spike of her arousal, she brought her eyes to Emma's, catching them looking back expectantly.

Pushing away from the chair, Regina lifted her right hand, curling her fingers slowly, lazily, inviting Emma to come closer, her lascivious smirk turning into a welcoming smile when the blonde instantly obeyed, without a trace of hesitation. In a slow but deliberate move, she pushed the blonde tresses behind the shoulder and placed her fingertips over the woman's newly revealed collarbone. Tracing the soft and still dry flesh, despite the warm temperatures of the place, she savored the fact that Emma's skin constricted in goosebumps wherever her caressing fingers trailed. Following the raised bone over to the shoulder, she pressed lightly, feeling the strong body under her hand give easily, moving in the direction she wanted, the blonde turning around and revealing her back to Regina.

At the sight of familiar scars slightly obscured by the hair, Regina could not resist, bringing both her hands up and splaying her palms over the shoulder blades, letting her palms connect fully with Emma's skin, moving her hands down Emma's back, following the contour of the spine. When she reached the line of the underwear she traced it with both her hands around, enveloping Emma in a sensual hold, pulling the blonde back into herself. Placing her chin over Emma's naked shoulder, careful not to snag on the light-colored locks, she blew gently over Emma's ear, delighting over the shiver it caused. "You missed something," she spoke clearly into it, making sure not to let her lips touch the ear or any other part of Emma's head. "Take off your panties, Emma," she said firmly, as she moved back a bit, bringing her hands again to Emma's shoulders, letting them slide down the back as the blonde bent over to comply. "Drop them," she instructed as she stopped the other woman from lowering down, her hands lightly keeping Emma's hips in place. "Step out," she urged softly, guiding the motion with the barest change of pressure in her hold. "Kick them," she added, sliding her hands up Emma's back when the blonde did as told. As her fingers reached the lower ends of the rib cage, she pressed just a little bit harder, reveling in the breathy gasp that escaped her lover's mouth, feeling the spine curve backwards under her touch, the blonde's head tilting up in pleasure.

Digging her hands possessively into the flesh in front of her, Regina followed the ridged line upwards, feeling the blonde's back curve more, her unsteady inhale interrupted by a quiet but vibrating moan. As soon as her palms reached Emma's neck, Regina wound her hands into the luscious hair, purposefully tangling it around her fingers before she gently pulled, forcing Emma to bend a bit more backwards, her head dropping farther back. Stepping slightly to a side, the brunette unwound her left hand from the golden tresses and slid it down the back of Emma's head pressing her nails against the sensitive skin of Emma's scalp. Smirking as the blonde shuddered in her hold, Regina pressed the hand against the corded muscles of Emma's neck, bringing it slowly forward to Emma's throat and resting it lightly beneath the sharp edges of the blonde's jawline, feeling the woman's throat move with a noisy swallow and also feeling the thundering pulse of the blonde's heart.

Emma wasn't struggling in the brunette's clutch. In fact, it seemed that when Regina had placed her hand on the woman's neck, the blonde's shoulders lost some of the rigidity forced into the muscles by the strain of keeping her head from overbalancing her, the entire weight of the blonde's head transferring to Regina's hand still in the woman's hair. If this was one of her conquests from the past, Regina wouldn't hesitate to assert her dominance even further, but this was Emma, the other half of her heart, and Regina was there most of all for Emma's benefit, to help her de-stress completely.

"That's it, Emma," she spoke in a low, sultry voice, her lips only millimeters away from the left side of Emma's face, kissing the slightly flushed cheek in encouragement. "I am here," she said firmly, guiding Emma's head to rest on her shoulder, turning it a bit toward her neck to ease the torque on her own elbow before releasing the blonde tresses and dropping her arm down. She pressed her front to Emma's naked back and with gentle but insistent push of the hand on Emma's neck, she took on some of Emma's weight. "Isn't that better?" she asked rhetorically, her right arm winding around Emma's middle in a possessive but gentle embrace. Flattened firmly against the blonde, she could sense Emma's core muscles loosening up, letting the woman lean into the brunette and relax even more.

It was a good start, Regina noted to herself as she kept the blonde in her embrace, accepting to bear some of her beloved's heft. They still had ways to go, and Emma had more walls than the Imperial Palace and Forbidden City put together. But her method was working quite well, at least for now.

They spent several minutes just standing there, in the middle of the room, Regina's booted legs on the outside of Emma's bare ones to ensure stability, just breathing. When Regina decided to move on, she slowly brought her lips to Emma's temple, kissing it lightly, using the tender sign of intimacy to draw Emma's attention. "Step to the bed, Emma," she instructed, keeping her voice quiet, still holding the woman very close and steady, anticipating the awkwardness of walking while arching back. However, the blonde didn't falter, still leaning against Regina, she managed to make a step forward without dislodging herself from the brunette's front. Immediately, Regina readjusted her stance and so, step by step they reached the low settled mattress. "On, with your knees," Regina commanded, her arms keeping the blonde stable during the move. "Sit on your heels. Lean back."

Due to the bed being so close to the ground, now Emma's head was nestled on Regina's chest, right between her breasts. Still holding her hand on Emma's neck, Regina gently slid it to a side, letting her palm rest on the left shoulder of the woman in front of her, the fingers of her hand pressing lightly against the collarbone, while her thumb traced the left side on the back of Emma's neck. Bringing her other hand to the Emma's other shoulder, mirroring the position of her left, Regina tightened her grasp, just enough to see her fingertips grow white with the pressure. "You mentioned pain before, and I am now curious why you would think that was something I had in mind for this." Her voice was soft and low and it was only the small trace of hoarseness that belied Regina's calm and unaffected manner. "The thing is," she went on, as if she wasn't holding onto the naked woman she loved with her whole being, "Pain would not break through these walls you have built around your heart, as you've become quite immune to it." Squeezing her fingers harder to demonstrate her point, she hummed appreciatively when Emma proved her right by not reacting at all to the painful grasp. "Even denial and deprivation of pleasure would fail at cracking the defenses you've ensnared yourself in, for you already have proven strong enough to bear all the sacrifices you've offered," she added insightfully, easing up on the blonde's shoulders. "Nor would you succumb to persistent and forceful coaxing, even if I was the one to demand it of you."

With the words Regina spoke came the tremble in Emma's frame, her breathing speeding up as Regina had listed all the ways she would not use. At the mention of forcing Emma, the blonde stopped breathing altogether for a short moment, just long enough for Regina to raise her eyebrow at the reaction before Emma continued breathing, although in ragged and staggering bursts. Perhaps later, she could explore this, Regina thought to herself as she moved, ready to go on.

"Spread your knees," she instructed the blonde, keeping her tone even.

Emma complied instantly, the speed of her actions drawing a smile out of the brunette, who was quite relieved that Emma couldn't see her face at the moment. Quickly, Regina smothered her smile, tracing the soft skin over hard-defined muscles of Emma's right arm, following it down to forearm, using her hand to bring it over her own shoulder, lightly caressing the soft underside of the pale upper arm, and using the teasing touch to keep Emma's arm in place.

"Wider," she spoke only seconds later, her other hand gliding over Emma's neck, deft and playful fingers dancing over the sensitive skin below the jaw, as she watched the blonde adjust her knees.

"This is where things become interesting," Regina said, still keeping her mask of being unaffected by her lover's current presence firmly affixed, quite aware of the effect her aloofness had on her beloved, the skin under her touch steadily heating up. "I really admire your control, Emma. If I didn't know better, I would've expected you to snap already, either running away or ravaging me. At the very least, I would have expected your magic to act up." At Emma's sudden throat clearing, she pressed her forefinger against the blonde's chin and tsked in warning. "But, I know better. And I learned a lot while I was away. For example, I learned that the need to control is often a way to keep from feeling abandoned." As she spoke, her right hand glided up and down Emma's side, climbing up to the elbow then sliding down the underside of her arm, skirting the edges of the armpit, and down, tracing the ribs and side of the belly, and up again, questing fingers teasing and arousing, just enough to make the blonde's muscles flex under her touch. "That explains a lot, doesn't it?" she asked rhetorically, before she hummed, absently agreeing to her own point. "Anyway, where was I?"

Flexing her fingers on Emma's throat, Regina hummed again. "Ah, yes, control," she spoke calmly. "You've disciplined your mind so well while I was away, and even though the meld we shared here days ago is more structured and less filled with emotional resonance, I still know you well enough to see what was missing. What your very thoughts shy away from." Regina splayed her hand on Emma's side, resting it lightly against the blonde's ribs, her fingers just millimeters away from the underside of Emma's breast. "I know why your first reaction just now was to expect pain from me," she said a bit quieter, her voice rougher with the emotion she couldn't help but let seep through.

Regina felt blonde's hard swallow as the woman's throat moved in effort to speak, but quickly moving her fingers onto Emma's chin, holding it tightly up, she shushed the woman gently, lifting her other hand to caress Emma's cheek as she bent her lover's head back in order to meet the green eyes. At the soft and muffled, but nevertheless heartbreaking whine that the blonde let out despite Regina's attempt of keeping her quiet, the former Evil Queen bowed her head and placed her lips on Emma's forehead.

"Hush, my darling," she soothed. "It's alright. I am not holding it against you nor am I taking offence at it, I don't mean to hurt you, Emma, only to tell you that I understand." She kept her voice gentle but her desire to show Emma the truth gave more weight to her words. "I finally understand why," she whispered, anguished realization almost making her unable to speak. But, she had promised to both herself and Emma that she would help and she wasn't going to fail because she couldn't keep control over herself and her emotions.

The brunette kept her eyes on Emma's, not breaking their connection, and she watched the green orbs fill with tears that slipped over unchecked as the blonde trembled in her clutches. "I am here," Regina whispered, her breath tickling the hero's face. "I am here," she kept repeating knowing that those particular words held more meaning and power for the Savior than she had ever suspected. She remembered the first time she had used them to comfort the blonde, so long ago, on the Jolly Roger, and even then, the words had been able to calm the restless woman in her arms. And, since that time, those words became an oath, a greeting, a soothing gesture, and a bolstering message all in one for the two of them. In some ways, those words held more promise and love than their 'I love you's. These were the words that 'dream' Emma had used to give Regina courage while she had been in Storybrooke, and these were the words Regina had spoken to awaken her lover from her despondency after the Red Mist. And now, these words held a new meaning. "I am here, my love," Regina spoke as she used her hands to wipe Emma's tears, her gentle fingers further soothing the other woman. "I am here now."

With tender touch, Regina directed Emma to bend her raised arm around the brunette's neck, giving it a small but valued proof that she was indeed there, real and solid. Using her left hand, Regina moved the blonde's head to a side, bringing it to rest on her bosom with her ear pressed against her breastbone. And, as soon as she removed her hand, letting it set down on Emma's other arm, she heard the woman sigh in respite, no doubt due to the strong and steady beat of her own heart.

"When I left," Regina started softly, making sure not to stop the caressing movement of her hands that helped her ground Emma, "I hurt you." She heard but didn't react to a barely audible whimper coming from the blonde. After a moment of heavy silence, she continued. "That evening, we both knew that our separation was going to be hell and that our night together was perhaps unwise, adding even more pain to an already devastating goodbyes. However, you ended up in a much worse position, because not only I was gone, but your entire family. And, in the two years since you've met Henry, you've changed enough that your old defenses couldn't work anymore, not after getting to know how it felt to be loved, accepted and integrated. No matter how learning that you weren't alone in this world was and is good for you, it has left you vulnerable to loss, and to the pain of absence." Regina bent her head down and kissed the crown of the blonde's head, lightly clenching Emma's left forearm with her hand before she turned her head and leaned against Emma with her cheek. "You needed me to be here, to show you that your memories, so vivid and strong, were real. That what we had shared that night wasn't a cruel dream; that it went beyond making love. That we became intrinsically and irreversibly bonded, wildly surpassing everything we had shared before.

Closing her eyes, Regina remembered the devastation she had read about in the journals and had witnessed later, through their bond. And, as always when she thought about those days, she felt the tears spill beneath her lids, seeping into Emma's golden tresses. "But, I wasn't," she murmured, forcing herself to speak around the knot that had formed in her throat. "And, remembering us so connected was like having ghosts of past stab you repeatedly in your heart, painful and driving you insane. So, in order to cope, you took every memory of intimacy we had shared and packed it tight, locking it away, along with the part of yourself that belongs to us, to me. You became cold and detached, amazing warrior and brilliant leader, but to those who knew you from before, a shadow of your former self."

Carefully, Regina enveloped Emma in her arms, still keeping the blonde's one around her neck and nuzzled the soft locks beneath her cheek. "Yes, I am here now," she added softly, "but, we both know that due to out circumstances I might not be, quite soon at that. And, that terrifies you. The idea that if you actually allowed yourself to remember, to fully feel what had transpired between us that night, to immerse yourself completely in what can happen tonight, and I leave again… It would kill you." Her words were followed by a shuddering whimper as the blonde stiffened in her arms. "You see, Em," the brunette whispered sadly. "I do understand."

Holding the unmoving woman in a firm embrace, the brunette waited patiently for Emma to relax again. She wished she could have done this any other way, preferably without hurting her beloved even further, but she also knew that Emma's walls needed to be taken down for the woman to be at her best and survive the challenges ahead.

After a long period of quietude, Regina felt wetness slowly spread over her chest, the fabric of her clothes soaking up the sweat she had produced in the warmth of the room, helped along by her arousal for the woman in her arms. However, despite the dampness of perspiration, Regina could sense that the growing wet stain over her shirt was not due to her bodily function but to the blonde's silent tears. When a small hiccup confirmed her thoughts, she squeezed her lover tighter, offering comfort through her very presence. She didn't attempt to stop Emma from crying. On the contrary, by her touch and barely audible humming, she was encouraging the blonde to cleanse some of her pain through tears, paying no heed to the uncomfortable feeling of wet stickiness of her shirt. It was such a small price to pay, in her mind, for at least some of Emma's release. Not long after Emma's breathing calmed down, Regina felt the blonde slump against her, her body returning to the previous level of pliability, all evidence of Emma's breakdown gone from her posture.

"I loath to use your parents' favorite line, but it is quite apt for the occasion," she said when Emma relaxed back into her arms. "But, the connection we share, Emma, it will let us always find each other, no matter the distance or circumstances. And, that very connection will always bring me back to you." Regina kissed the blonde's head. "Even death will stand defeated at the strength of our bond," Regina stated firmly, her words resonating with otherworldly certitude.

Emma did not respond in any way, apart from winding her fingers through the dark tresses at the nape of Regina's head, the possessive gesture making the former Evil Queen sigh quietly in relief.

"Do I still have your consent?" she asked, having let the moment of comfort pass between them. When Emma nodded, Regina clucked her tongue in mild disapproval, prompting Emma to reply with a rough and low voice, her statement consisting only of four words. "Yes, Regina, you do."

"Good."

Bringing her right hand to Emma's, she intertwined their fingers before she gently brought both of them down, winding their arms around Emma's middle, keeping her palm over Emma's. "You've been so strong, darling," she offered proudly. "So staunch in your duties, but there is no need for that here, while you're with me." Using the thumb of her right hand, she traced the defined lines of Emma's belly, delighting in the quivering muscles underneath.

With her left hand, Regina reached down to Emma's hip, letting her fingers just graze the sensitive skin there, slowly, through touch returning them both to the charged atmosphere of before. She didn't deviate much from the zones she had chosen, first to get Emma used to such touch and in that context, the previous emotional experience making her wary of jumping into things too fast.

Paying attention to Emma's breath, Regina had to constantly remind herself not to rush, not to slide her hand down to Emma's slit, no matter how much she wanted it, and no matter how much Emma physically seemed to be ready for it.

You have a plan, she had to repeat to herself whenever her fingers would glide a bit lower than she intended. Be patient.

Just a bit later, when Regina deemed her beloved sufficiently enticed to continue to the next part of the plan, the brunette brought her hands to the pale thighs in front of her, bending both herself and Emma slightly forward for the ease of access. With Emma's knees already spread wide enough for what she had in mind, Regina slipped her right hand between the blonde legs, skimming the delicate skin on the inside of Emma's right leg, tracing the thigh with just the tips of her fingers lightly grazing the skin, stopping her motion whenever her hand would reach the line of the butt mindful not to come too close to Emma's center, before she would draw her hand lower, toward the knee.

Once, when her thumb accidentally brushed the tendon right next to the woman's lower lips, Regina more felt than heard the woman in front of her moan, bringing her attention to the blonde's head, and the flushed face of her beloved. There she saw her lover biting her lower lip while screwing her eyes tightly shut.

"Stop that!" she said sharply, using her the index finger of her free hand to pull Emma's lip out of its white prison. "The sounds you make belong to me. I want to hear you. I want to hear every moan, every hiss, and every reaction you feel the need to make. Don't stop yourself from making them. Understood?" Capturing Emma's chin firmly between her thumb and first two fingers, she gently turned the woman's head to a side, meeting the dazed eyes, so she could make her point clearer. "When you hold them back, you are taking them away from me, and I want what's mine!" Even though she felt at ease in such possessive and dominant position, Regina worried that if she were to overdo it, the blonde would retreat from her and this elaborate set up she had insisted on. However, after a hard gaze into the stunned expression of her beloved and hearing the sharp, explosive gasp leaving Emma's mouth at her forceful words, and judging by the rapidly enlarging pupils of the blonde's eyes, Regina had a feeling that she didn't need to worry about coming off too strong.

"Now that's settled, let's move on," Regina said before she lowered her head down and pressed her lips to Emma's, still holding her chin. And as the blonde let out a muffled moan during the kiss and pushed back, seeking more of it, she could see that her words had an effect on the woman.

Continuing her previous motions, Regina watched her beloved sink deeper into the haze of desire, her bluish green eyes losing some of their piercing quality as the blonde struggled to keep their gaze connected. Sliding her fingers over Emma's flushed cheek gently, the brunette smiled encouragingly at the younger woman in her arms, before she slid her right hand right into the warm wetness, her index finger just grazing the side of the blonde's clit.

The resulting gasp followed immediately by a frustrated moan seared through Regina's blood, as she strained to contain her arousal just enough to maintain her role, clenching her teeth to stop a low growl from leaving her throat. Emma was wet. Not just wet, she was dripping, her juices instantly drenching Regina's fingers. Enticed by such overt display of desire, the Queen drew her hand lower, just barely touching the nub on the outside and then, instead of going to the source of the wetness, she slid her hand onto Emma's thigh, letting her damp digits paint over the blonde's heated skin.

When she repeated the move several times without touching the clit a bit harder, Regina felt the blonde in her arms grow more impatient, her hips starting to cant slightly in effort to hurry Regina along.

"Let it wash over you, Emma," the brunette spoke in a soft whisper, her mouth close to Emma's ear. "Don't chase it, it will come," she added before catching the yielding tissue of Emma's ear between her teeth in gentle warning.

Deliberately and with extraordinary patience, the brunette brought pleasure to the wounded Knight in her arms, the torturous slowness used to gently degrade the control Emma had over herself. She may have surrendered to Regina's sensual touch but the holds she had over her magic and her emotions was still holding strong, no matter how tenuous they might have seemed earlier, and Regina knew that without them breaking, Emma was still in danger.

Only when the brunette felt the familiar buzz spreading over her skin, she smiled and awarded the woman in her arms with a few hard circles over her no doubt aching nub. The sudden escalation startled the blonde, tugging a sharp yelp out of her, followed by a sinful moan as she sank into the bit of relief Regina offered, her magic slipping out even more.

The feel of power that carried her beloved's essence soothed something deep within Regina's heart, filling the emptiness she had been feeling for a while until she had left the secret room at the Temple. But, then, her mind had been overwhelmed with the knowledge she had received from Gorlois and the relief she had felt as she finally ended up in Emma's already waiting arms. She hadn't been able to make sense of the fact that Emma had managed to reactivate her magic and that it had become even more potent since that day long before, on the pier of Safe Haven. Even earlier, in their room at the House of Healing, Emma had kept her power tightly under wraps, leaving almost no ambient trace of it for Regina to fully sense it.

But now as the Savior's power seeped out, the brunette could feel the subtle changes in it. It was still Emma's magic, the mind-blowing mixture of Savior's white magic created out of True Love, Emma's own personal brand of magic, and with the strong presence of Dragon, Yaoguai and Unicorn magic, along with traces of her own dark-tinged power. The scent of it was incredibly potent and seductive, calling upon her own, the bond they had making it even harder for Regina to resist the pull. But, it wasn't time yet, Regina firmly decided, despite the yearning to entangle their powers together.

"Reg-" the blonde gasped, her pleading tone attracting Regina's attention.

Taking mercy on her beloved, the brunette stepped up her efforts to bring gratification to the frustrated blonde. By now, Emma's skin was covered in sweat, not even the liquid managing to keep her body from heating up even more. In time, the Queen brought Emma to a powerful climax, but due to the all previous teasing, it was far from enough to sate the blonde's newly awakened appetite to bodily pleasures. So, Regina continued leading Emma through the very heights of making love, never pushing too hard to force the pleasure out of her but just enough for the blonde to lean into orgasms.

And, with each new climax, Regina could feel Emma's shackles slip away bit by bit. First, it was her magic, just seeping out at the beginning but under Regina's ministrations, Emma had lost all control of it, the power rising and falling with each breath Emma would take, its amazing force swirling around them, its indomitable power still calling Regina's own, even stronger than earlier, the sharp and demanding tides of it trying to entice Regina into rushing and losing control over herself, the brunette barely managing to hold herself along with her magic in check, before the incredibly strong and willful energy dissipated into the stones lining the room. Then, it was Emma's control over herself that disappeared, the blonde completely surrendering to the devastating pleasure Regina foisted upon her. She had truly stopped thinking, existing solely in the moment, solely for the will of her True Love. She had no ability to recall memories of pain, loss, of loneliness, because nothing existed outside the two of them in that very moment, Emma completely yielding to Regina's will and letting go of everything else, including all the reins she ever had held over herself.

With expertise, Regina brought her lover to an earth-shattering climax, not at all surprised when Emma's eyes rolling up and the blonde slumping unconscious in Regina's arms tailed the orgasmic scream.

Setting the blonde down onto the bed, Regina gently checked Emma's breathing and pulse, sighing in self-satisfied relief when she confirmed that her lover was only passed out, no doubt to her exhaustion added to the heights of emotional releases Regina had guided through. She removed Emma's wildly strewn hair away from the blonde's cheek and leaning over, she pressed her lips on the still sweat-saturated forehead. Leaving the bed, she carefully stepped away to avoid shifting the mattress too much and walked over to the hot spring in the room, on the way gathering a small bowl. Having filled it with steaming water, she went to the satchel and took out the supplies she and Gwen had prepared. Setting the small parcel with food on the low table, she took one of the rags Gwen had packed and a glass bottle of the massage oil she had taken out of the blushing healer's hands. Having heard from both Emma and the young healer that the blonde had not been dutiful in her recovery, Regina had decided that another healing massage was in order, but first…

She took the rag and dropped it into the water, letting it soak, as she settled beside Emma, kneeling down on the floor from where she could easily wash the blonde's sweat away.

Sometime during her tender ablutions, Emma floated up to consciousness, sighing softly at the feel of hot fabric wiping away the stickiness from her skin. She opened her eyes to find the brunette leaning slightly over her, the gentle motions not stopping when the sparkling dark eyes met her own.

"Welcome back," the brunette chuckled lightheartedly as she smirked down on the still hazy woman. Shifting just a bit, Regina leaned down and kissed the blonde lightly, her peck full of love. "You OK?" she asked softly, her hand flinging away the rag into the bowl as she had finished, and she lifted herself up onto the bed, settling beside her beloved.

Emma hummed in confirmation, her body immediately curling up to the brunette's. "Just tired," she murmured into Regina's throat, her hand winding around Regina's middle.

"Then rest a bit more," the Queen replied, using her magic to remove most of her clothes and to bring a light sheet over them before she relaxed into the mattress, nuzzling the blonde's temple. Honestly, she too needed a little break and they didn't need to leave for a long while yet.

A brief period later, Emma woke up enveloped in a feeling of safety and love, the warmth suffusing her body, making her head feel still a bit fuzzy and her wholly relaxed. As it dawned on her that the balminess was due to Regina's loving hold on her, she became aware of soft and barely there touch over the back of her shoulder, the soothing motions maintaining the rhythm she was intimately familiar with. Snuggling deeper into the welcoming arms, she sighed with content, not in a hurry to do anything but be there, soaking up the affection so easily bestowed on her.

Regina, on the other hand, couldn't help but let her thoughts run wild, her indomitable will making sure that none of her turmoil was detectable from her body and face, her ever gently caressing fingers the only sign of her inner restlessness. The talk she had had with Guardian previously had left her bewildered, but also with a sense of ominous expectation, something that she didn't like at all. The last time she had felt this way, she had been just informed that the Savior was deep in the Infinite Forest and needing her help. Needless to say, finding Emma on the verge of death had made her wary of Guardian's vague wisdoms and warnings. She'd need to talk to the damn Dragon again, she told to herself.

But, for now, she was exactly where she wanted to be. Where she needed to be. With Emma. So, she simply allowed herself to enjoy her lover's burrowing and comforting weight pressing her down into the bed. She had missed this Emma's penchant to climb almost entirely on top of her in her sleep, nuzzling the point where her neck met the shoulder. When she heard the blonde's soft sigh, she brought her hand to Emma's face, cradling the woman's cheek. "I am not done with you just yet," she said tucking some of Emma's wild mane behind her ear. Emma hummed in acknowledgement before she lightly groaned, her arms flexing as she tried to lift herself away from the brunette, her reluctance to move obvious in her slow actions but the trust and desire to please her beloved seemed to win, as she managed to push herself onto her hands and knees, waiting for Regina to give her further instruction.

Regina chuckled at the expectant glance Emma had thrown her and patted the still warm surface of the bed in invitation. "Just lie here, on your belly," she supplied before she rolled out and reached for the oil. She didn't miss the realization dawning in the blonde's eyes that had intently followed her out of the bed, nor did she miss Emma's surprised frown as she lowered herself down. "This is for me as much as it is for you," Regina spoke in a low tone as she straddled the woman's thighs. "I love taking care of you. Helping you heal, helping you be the best you can be." Rubbing the oil between her palms and filling her hands with more oil she added, "It calms something tempestuous in me," before she poured several drops of warm oil out of her hands onto Emma's back.

"I under-st-Aah-nd" Emma tried to say before she let out a satisfied moan when Regina pressed strongly into the spaces next to her spine. "Oh God," she gasped as the brunette guided her hands upwards.

"I knew you would," the brunette smirked at the prone woman's reaction. Spreading the warm liquid over Emma's back, she added, "We both appreciate the sense of belonging it offers us, the feeling of acceptance and unconditional love." Directing her thumbs to press into the corded muscles of the blonde's neck, she relished Emma's rather vocal appreciation of her efforts. Even though her work on loosening up the exceedingly strong muscles of her beloved's body was quite similar to that of two weeks before, Emma's response was notably different. Where once the Savior would have shied away from too intimate or too sensual touch, allowing only for the soothing and healing benefits of the massage, now the woman even urged Regina to spend more time on each of the areas the brunette was focusing on, her spoken encouragements further enhanced by the guttural groans of deep gratification.

Slowly, and with great care, Regina rubbed oil over every inch of Emma's skin, doing her best to ignore the sensual moans such touch inspired. When she was done with the back, she instructed the blonde to turn over, pouring more oil into her cupped hand, and went on with the massage, moving around the bed to get as much reach as she would need for the hard muscles and strained tendons of her beloved's body. Having put the younger woman through several body-spasming peaks, she took her job seriously, working on healing aspects of the massage rather than arousing ones, just as the last time. As soon as she finished with Emma's limbs, she again coaxed the blonde to turn over, quite pleased to note the sluggishness in the woman's movements.

And, now for the next part, Regina quietly commented to herself, settling on Emma's thighs, once more reaching for the oil. While holding the bottle in her hand, she brought her other one to the small of Emma's back, pressing gently into the flesh, feeling the loose and limber muscles under her fingers. Tipping the oil container gently she spilled it slowly over small of the woman's back and bringing it over the buttocks, using her hand to guide the excess oil.

It was gratifying to Regina that Emma didn't flinch under such move, nor did she react in any negative way, the only reaction was in a form of long and indulgent hum.

Having placed the bottle close to her, but far enough not to accidentally tip it over, Regina pressed both hands onto Emma's bottom, spreading the oil around and rubbing it in the sensitive skin, her skillful fingers teasing over the line of the crack and sliding to the outer side of the lips, while digging into the butt muscles, causing Emma to groan from the double stimulation.

"You're killing me," Regina heard the softly uttered gasp and looked up at her beloved's head. There, beside the blonde's head turned to the side, with loose hair strewn over her left shoulder, was the right hand, pressing into mattress just enough to create a small indentation in the sheet. The half-lidded sparkling eyes were looking at her with amusement mixed with pleasure.

Regina chuckled in response, before slipping her fingers over the puckered muscle, chuckling again at the slow hiss it coaxed out of the blonde. Shifting down a bit and letting most of her weight rest on her own knees and legs rather than Emma's, the brunette carefully moved, so Emma's legs would be on the outside of her own, the new angle letting her reach Emma's already soaked core.

Pouring more oil, this time directly over the flushed labias, Regina caressed the sensitive folds, spreading the viscous fluids all over them. She was tender and patient in her ministrations, escalating her touch slowly, keeping Emma's body in a state of lassitude, left over from the massage but still bringing pleasure to the woman, balancing expertly on the line between too little stimulation (that would either be much too frustrating for the blonde or not arousing enough) and too much of it, pushing her into fast orgasms. No, what Regina had in mind for her True Love was nothing so quick and easy.

With her slick fingers, the brunette found the sensitive nub peeking out of the folds of inner lips, and gently spreading more oil over it she started playing with it, teasing it further out as it filled with blood due to Emma's arousal, her digits gliding over the folds before returning the nub.

When Emma started squirming in need, unable to hold herself still anymore, her shortened breath often interrupted by soft, keening moans, Regina shifted down a bit and with her hands pulled the woman's hips toward herself, her gentle manipulation bringing Emma to bend her knees under her torso, leaving her core up in the air and with ease of access. As soon as she brought the blonde to the position she wanted, Regina returned her hands to the sopping and hot folds, her actions making the woman in front of her groan in need, her hands digging into the bedding beside her head.

Not once did Emma beg or insist for Regina to just get on with it, even though the brunette expected her to. The quiet murmurs of Regina's name, with a sputtering exhalations of 'Oh, God, oh, God' were the only things the blonde clearly spoke. The fact that even the younger woman's magic had seeped out without the accompanying edge of frenzied demands hidden within the tendrils of power itself spoke much of Emma's complete surrender. The blonde was hers, in ways she had never been before, and that amount of trust and belonging awed Regina, especially taking into the consideration that Emma had been such a wild and untamable spirit, incapable of calm acceptance but always quietly, and not so quietly, raging against the authority people would have over her. That had been one of the reasons Emma had butted heads with her so strongly in Storybrooke, and why the woman was chafing under Snow's mothering. Even Graham had commented once how the blonde had chuckled indulgently at him when he had tried to assert the dominant position of his job over hers. So, to have the woman who was legendary with her disdain against authority submit to her effortlessly, resting her upper body against the bed, not moving out of the vulnerable position Regina had placed her in; and to be truthful, the pose the brunette had her in was truly one of the most vulnerable ones for a woman - was humbling and filling Regina with adoration for the blonde in front of her.

Quickly bringing her lover to devastating heights, Regina leaned slightly away from the searing warmth of her lover's skin, her fingers curling into fists as she pressed them hard against her oil slick thighs, the dull pain doing nothing to distract her from the overwhelming need roaring in her, her body trembling in arousal, almost too sensitive even for the feel of her underwear against her skin.

Biting her lip and using the sharp hurt to marshal her thoughts and will, the brunette initiated the next part of her extensive plan of helping Emma.

A soft but melodious hum came from the woman beside her as they lounged in the hot water of the spring in the quarters, the gentle tune drawing Regina's attention to the moment. Previously, her mind had sunk into the pleasurable haze, brought on by an explosive completion following vigorous round of lovemaking and a tender caress of Emma's hand gliding over her back.

Regina had used her life experience to help Emma slowly tap into her own desires and to reestablish the dominant side of her own personality, guiding her beloved with care and bit by bit relinquishing control. Her careful guidance had ended when the blonde flipped them, trapping Regina in a overpowering hold, making what was left of her clothes disappear in a blink of an eye and proceeded to ravish her, paying her back with numerous moments of rapture until they both had collapsed into an exhausted heap of limbs.

Turning her head to her side, resting it lightly over her forearms, the brunette lazily opened one eye, taking in the beautiful warrior beside her. Emma was on her side, her head propped against her hand and held up by her elbow, her wet hair falling over to the side and the murmuring water reaching just under her breasts.

"What is that you're humming?"

Emma's sparkling eyes found Regina's and the woman smiled. "An enchanted moment," she spoke softly, the tune of her hum obvious in the words. "And it sees me through; It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you."

Regina rolled her eyes at the song she recognized almost immediately, as soon as Emma had started softly singing the words. "Really, Emma? Disney, and a wrong one, at that?" she said with a lighthearted scoff but the blonde beside just winked at her, before gathering her in her arms, going to the chorus of the song.

"Can you feel the love tonight? It is where we are-" Emma would've sung more, no doubt, but a pair of luscious lips had pressed against her own. The sudden move forced a half-strangled giggle out of the Savior before she relaxed into the kiss, wrapping her arms around the woman currently attacking her.

A long minute later, Regina let out a pleased sigh as she shifted into a better position to look at Emma's face. "So, aside from your questionable taste in music, what's on your mind?" she asked softly, her index finger sliding over the blonde's cheek in a gentle caress.

Using her arms to pull the older woman into her own body, Emma let out a relaxed hum. "I am just thinking; what next?"

The brunette smiled, pecking Emma's lips before she replied, her words turning coquettish. "Well, we could sort the bed and get on it. I still didn't have chance to-"

"I still can't move from the last time," Emma replied in mock exasperation. "You've played plenty."

"It's not like you haven't returned the favor, Emma," Regina spoke in return. "But, I guess it is a time for the reality to intrude…" She lowered her head down on the blonde's chest, her ear pressed against the solid thump of the blonde's heart. "I don't think we should stay here past Christmas. In fact, I would like to get to the castle just in time for it. So, we have about a week still."

"Alright," Emma agreed. "That should do fine. The tailor and the cobbler would be done by then, and Percy has already promised to start with the preparations to leave Brocéliande. In the meantime, I will visit the Yaoguai and get more information out of Guardian. Then, I'll need to deal with the blacksmith, and I suggest you get some training with Percival or Dai. We can always use the time ward if it is needed."

"Why would I need further practice in combat?" the brunette asked, lifting her head off Emma's chest to look at the woman below her.

Emma opened her mouth to reply before she paused. Pushing onward, she said, "Magic is disappearing from the Enchanted Forest." Tucking an errant lock over the brunette's ear, she continued. "My destiny, according to Guardian, is to bring it back into the world - because the Enchanted Forest cannot exist without it."

"Your magic, that can explain it," Regina spoke after several moments of pensive silence. "When I scried for you by searching for your magic, the map of the Forest lit up in its entirety." Shaking her head, the brunette returned to the topic. "So, it would provide me with an advantage over Zelena, assuming she hasn't prepared in the same way."

"You have the benefit of living in Storybrooke for twenty eight years and knowing why the magic is failing." Kissing Regina's frowning forehead, Emma scratched the back of the brunette's head in a soothing manner, before she slowly rose into seating position, holding Regina in her arms, so the woman ended up sitting on her lap with legs going around Emma's hips, their lower bodies still submerged in the hot water of the spring. "Have you given any thought to where she might be?"

"No." Leaning her forehead against the blonde's neck, Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's shoulders, seeking comfort from her beloved as she thought about her half-sister. "From everything you have learned about her, and what little I have gathered from the spy, I know that she is jealous of me, but I don't see the point for it now."

"Perhaps her spy informed her that Cora had died. We weren't exactly quiet about that in Storybrooke." Emma brought her hands to her beloved's back, pressing Regina into her while her fingers stroking the wet skin.

"Maybe." A soft sigh pushed air over Emma's neck. "She wants what I have. I would have expected her to take my castle away from me."

"Blame me for that, I locked it down with my magic."

"Right," Regina said in a droll tone, as she wrapped her fingers into the partially waterlogged blonde hair, squeezing the excess liquid out of the tresses in an almost absent-minded way. "You did the same with the Dark Castle, so She went to the Forbidden Fortress instead, because Maleficent was my closest friend. The Charmings' Palace is occupied and well defended, as we witnessed only two days ago, in the outside time, anyways. We could check Henry's estate when we start looking, but nothing else comes to mind."

"Your mother's mill?" Emma asked.

"There is nothing left. Mother torched it to the ground when she married Daddy."

"Midas?"

"I doubt it, but we'll check." Regina looked at the woman holding her in embrace and smiled at loving glint that still hadn't gone out of the eyes that had finally returned to their true colors. "I still don't get why now? Who wages war in winter?"

"We have to assume she has some sort of a plan in mind, even if it might be completely insane," Emma spoke softly, splaying her palms over Regina's shoulder blades, the tips of her fingers digging gently into the hollows on both sides of the spine. "We'll figure her out and then you'll deal with it."

"Hmm," Regina murmured in agreement as she lowered her head, her move bringing Emma's lips within the range of her own. With her hands in Emma's hair, she pulled in it, tilting the blonde's head back and kissed the woman, her tongue slipping between the open lips of her lover, letting the passion between them rise again. "No more talking," she breathed into Emma's mouth.

Emma hummed and holding the brunette firmly in her arms, she rose from the water, her core strength keeping both of them from overbalancing. Not breaking their kiss, the woman brought them to the bed, and with only a thought of fixing it, she willed it into previous state, with clean and undamaged sheets, the magic also drying both of their skins. Carefully sitting down on the newly restored mattress, Emma set them both down, not breaking the intimate hold they had on each other. Only then did Regina break the kiss, turning her lips to Emma's jaw and neck instead. "Emma," she said softly into the blonde's ear. "Please," she added as she scraped her teeth over the pulse point on the woman's neck.

The blonde hissed at the sensation, dropping her palms to Regina's bottom, and grabbed the buttocks, using her strength to both press Regina's core against her hard-muscled belly and massage the flesh in her hands. As her lover's hot cleft came in touch with the well-formed lines of Emma's abs, the blonde felt the woman shudder in her arms, as well as the wetness at the point of contact.

"More," Regina gasped even as her hips pistoned, rubbing her sensitive clit against the clenched muscles. "More," she insisted, pulling on Emma's hair. "Please."

Emma complied, her fingers skidding down the line between the buttocks, making sure to press lightly against the puckered muscle in several teasing circles before reaching the source of heat. She swirled the tips of her digits in the wetness pouring out of her lover, pinching and pulling gently on the drenched inner lips, reveling in the jerking motions of Regina's hips.

"In, inside," the brunette ordered in a breathy voice. "Don't tease." But, Emma didn't want for it to go too quickly, so she lifted one arm, whose loss Regina felt keenly, and used it to push her lover slightly away. Bending down, she caught Regina's nipple between her teeth, sucking on it while using her hand to play with the other one. "Emma, Emma, please." Pulling again on the blonde tresses in her hands, she tried to urge the woman to listen. "Oh, God," she yelled when Emma bit and pinched her peaked points just as she dipped two of the questing fingers into her, barely past the entrance.

Emma chuckled at the reaction, repeating it several times more.

"Damn it, Emma, just fuck me!"

"As you wish," the blonde replied impishly, moving her hand from thoroughly abused nipple to Regina's heat, sliding over the already swollen clit with hard touch.

"Oh, yes!"

The fingers of the hand she used to enter Regina from behind remained barely dipped in the woman's drenched chanel, fluttering and pressing against the quivering muscle, but Emma used her right hand to rub the clit and push into Regina, each time she would drive her fingers deep inside, a passionate yelp or a moaning gasp would come from the woman in her arms, her breath too often stolen by Emma's actions.

"Oh, there, yes, faster."

Emma set an almost punishing rhythm, driving Regina toward a mind-blowing orgasm, but even when her beloved reached her peak, she didn't stop, coaxing one more out of the completely ravished woman, the second one more powerful and accompanied by a flood of liquid splashing over Emma's belly and hips.

"Leave it inside," Regina managed to murmur, her head slumped on Emma's shoulder, as her limbs still twitched with the aftershocks of her amazing climax, stopping the blonde from removing her hand.

After some time, the brunette allowed Emma to move, hissing softly as the feeling of fullness dissipated. Keeping Regina pressed to her chest, the younger woman shifted and settled down on the bed, with her lover atop of her, their legs entwined, and she used her magic to bring the sheet to cover them with. Resting her head and shoulders on the down pillow, Emma hummed in content when her beloved set her ear right above her heart, and in turn she used her left hand to lightly stroke the skin of Regina's neck and scalp, while she draped her right one over Regina's waist.

"I love your heart," Regina's whisper broke the silence. "So strong." She brought her left palm to Emma's breastbone and still listening, she imitated the soft thumping against the sternum with her fingers. "Ever since the Jolly Roger, its rhythm has been able to bring me calm, and soothe me in ways nothing ever could." Splaying her palm in the space between Emma's breasts, she pressed her head harder against the comforting beat. "When it stopped, I… I was lost. And, I just couldn't… " her voice broke and she shivered in Emma's arms.

"You restarted it. You brought me back. I am here."

"I know," Regina said quietly. "The point I was going to make was that your heart gave me peace and safety so I could let myself love you. But, it was your strength that drew me to you. The first time I saw you, you were this riffraff from Boston, but even then I could sense you had quite the physicality about yourself." The solid thumps under her ear remained measured, but Regina knew Emma was listening, if only by the slowing of her fingers in the dark hair. "And you couldn't help but show off every time I saw you around the town. Did you have to look so overwhelmingly sexy while saving my son?"

She could hear the chuckle start from within Emma before the blonde let it out. "You're the one to talk, with your power suits and straining shirts," the blonde responded, squeezing the supple flesh under her right arm.

"Your physical power is something I have always admired. I've seen you fight and destroy enemies before you, but also I've seen and experienced how gentle you can be, restraining that strength under tight control. I don't think you can fully appreciate how safe you make me feel, Emma, even when all this power is directed at me, even with the link between our minds." Blowing her breath in front of her, Regina's eyes caught the nipple before her tightening due to the hot air. "But, even more, I think you fail to realize how hot it makes me," she added, slowly moving her hand to the breast and using her forefinger to circle the nub, making it firmer. As she played with Emma's breast, she heard the pleasing sound of Emma's heart speeding up.

Lifting her head up, she looked into the questioning eyes above her. "You were always quite fit, but since your presence here, you've become magnificent," Regina said and leaned over to kiss Emma's neck. "I was too concerned about you to really do what I want with these incredible lines, but now. Now, you are going to lay here and let me."

Just as she finished speaking, she sank her teeth to the back of Emma's shoulder, gripping it tight enough to bruise but not to break much of blood vessels and skin. Emma reacted with a growl streaming through her clenched jaws as her head flung back into the pillow while she wound her fingers into the dark hair and made a fist. "You, witch," the warrior grounded darkly as she pulled Regina away from her shoulder, still making sure not to cause the woman any undue hurt. She was surprised with the bite, but it hadn't been painful, not really. She could even admit that the sensation was an arousing one.

The brunette scoffed at the words, before she chucked, her laughter filled with the sharp edge of something, the kind of something Emma had no doubts anyone else would call evil. But, as the Savior knew her beloved to the very depths of her soul, she also knew that Regina hadn't suddenly been exchanged with her counterpart from the past.

"I, my dear, am the Queen," the woman declared, pressing both her palms against Emma's chest, heels of Regina's hands digging into the swells of Emma's breasts, using her arms to balance forward and sit astride the blonde, just above the prone woman's pelvis. "And, you are mine," the former Evil Queen stated, her words radiating possessive certainty.

Emma gasped when her lover's hips shifted and the woman's slick center ground against the lower abs she had tightened in surprise. The puffed lips had left behind them a trail of hot wetness, one that Regina refreshed by moving her hips again.

How did they get there? How was talking about Emma's body resulting in this raw and domineering love-making?

Apparently, her silence had not been the proper approach as the brunette pressed into Emma's skin with her fingers, the trimmed nails leaving white crescents in their place. The warrior flexed her muscles and lifted her shoulders off the pillow, pulling Regina's head down in a violent meeting of their mouths, her response bringing a deep moan out of the brunette before the Queen pushed Emma back down, the sudden retaliation making the blonde lose her grip on the dark locks. "Stay," she ordered sharply, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a head snap, her core gliding over the slicked belly, the hips never stopping to move.

Regina was rubbing against her muscles, it came to Emma's mind, and just like that, the blonde understood. Her beloved was highly aroused by the sharply defined muscles on her body, by the physical prowess it presented. The worshipful massages, the speech… Additionally, Emma had been waiting for Regina's darker and controlling side, the Queen, to resurface, especially after being held back for the more gentle and caring parts of her personality, and as Regina had said, Emma made her feel safe. Safe to simply be, whatever facet of her existence needed to emerge.

"Can you feel how hard they are?" Emma whispered as she watched her beloved chase relief, biting her lip and canting her pelvis. "For your pleasure, my Queen," she added in a low tone, bringing her hands to Regina's knees to help keep them steady. "Only yours."

For a moment, Emma doubted her lover heard her, but at her last statement, a new gush of hot arousal covered her belly and Regina sped up.

"I am yours, my Queen. In body and soul."

Just as the blonde spoke, the woman above her let a deep and long groan as her legs spasmed out of rhythm. "Emma," the royal gasped as her weight shifted forward, and she barely managed to hold herself up, the sudden change of pressure on her swollen nub setting off the aftershocks of her climax. "By the Gods, Emma," she uttered between the hurried deep breaths, and as her dark eyes connected to the green ones, the blonde could see that her beloved was surprised by her own reaction to the words Emma had spoken.

"I am, you know? Just as you are mine." Emma said earnestly, her palms travelling the sweat covered skin from Regina's knees, over her sides to her shoulder blades, guiding the brunette closer so their lips could meet in a soft, loving kiss. "I love you," she breathed out over the moist lips before she . pressed harder, pulling Regina into a more passionate kiss, her tongue probing into Regina's mouth, as her hand tangled into the luscious dark hair at Regina's nape.

"Oh, Emma," Regina sighed against her beloved's lips when they pulled away to breathe. "I can't even put to words how much I love you." She pushed herself slightly up and brought one of her hands to Emma's cheek, cupping it as her thumb traced the blonde's flushed and slightly swollen lower lip. Shifting slightly, she used her other hand for stability, then she leaned over the prone woman and kissed her on the forehead, feeling the movement of Emma's eyebrows. She lifted her head and peered into the twinkling eyes watching her in amused curiosity. "I missed those," she whispered, lowering her lips again, this time setting them over the eyelid, gently touching the soft lid, before moving to the other, repeating the kiss. Then, she kissed Emma's cheek, opposite from the one she still held with her hand. Taking a deep breath, she dipped her head lower and brushed her lips against Emma's once, and then again in a lingering touch. Moving further down, she kissed the underside of the blonde's jaw, peppering light kisses down the neck before her mouth came upon the still red mark her teeth had made only minutes before. In apology, she softly pressed her lips, tracing the bite with light touches, but she didn't linger for long, moving onto the collarbones, caressing them with barely there kisses.

As her lover covered her in soft nips of affection, Emma hummed, her skin tingling under Regina's lips and tickling strands of hair. The quiet hum turned into a startled gasp when the hot mouth captured her nipple and into a moan when the lips gave way to teeth and tongue. But, when the woman repeated her actions on her other breast, using her fingers to continue manipulation on the first one, Emma couldn't help but let a deep groan in pleasure.

The brunette chuckled as she moved lower still, keeping her fingers on Emma's nipples while her mouth explored the blonde's chest, the soft and sensitive skin over the breastbone and ribs, her questing tongue drawing several of flinching giggles and gasps out of the warrior.

As she reached the well defined muscles on Emma's belly, she hummed at the flavor dissolving on her tongue, co-mingling with the salty taste of the blonde's sweat. "I taste good on you," she spoke, her eyes glinting in the mild light of the crystals as she lifted her head to look at her beloved's flushed face.

"Oh, God," Emma groaned, her reaction getting her another chuckle in return. "Don't you want to see how I taste?" Emma managed to utter before Regina twisted her nipples sharply, causing a tortured moan to follow the words.

"You might have a point," the brunette said, her voice low and husky, and Regina lowered her head down, her nose digging into Emma's belly-button. Then, with an impish smirk, she shuffled downward and scraped her teeth over the softness beside Emma's hipbone, humming in pleasure when the blonde shuddered. But, then, she no longer cared to prolong her playful teasing, because the scent of Emma's arousal drenched her nose and she simply had to follow the aroma back to its source, diving into the flushed and swollen sex with abandon.

They talked, making further plans for the time they had left in Brocéliande and, later, after the short gathering with the family. With a small nap thrown between their conversations, the two women slowly started preparing to rejoin the outside world. Or, at least, Guardian, for the moment.

"How do you feel?" Regina asked from her seat, surreptitiously watching her beloved put on her clothes as she fiddled with her boots.

Emma looked over to the brunette and shrugged before she tucked in her shirt and bent to reach her tunic. "I don't know," she said slowly, pulling it over her head and turning to face the other woman, she felt a salacious smirk spread over her face. "Not as much frustrated, that's for sure." Seeing Regina's barely there smile, the blonde sighed. "I'm not fixed, or anything like that."

"This was never about fixing you, Emma," the Queen spoke softly, as she pushed up from the chair she had been sitting in. "Not that there is anything to fix," she added when she reached her lover and caressed the blonde's cheek, her voice low and heartfelt. "It was about providing an outlet for all the bottling you have been doing lately, and giving you a safe space to let go." Her fingers slid down to the jaw and traced it to the slightly parted lips. "So, I am not expecting you to be miraculously untouched by the hurdles you have gone through."

Unable to stop her tongue from meeting the soft fingers on her lower lip, Emma lowered her head, leaning her forehead against Regina's. "I feel… Cleaner, somehow. Clearer. Like…" Blowing a raspberry in frustration made by her inability to find the right words, she tried again. "Like all the buzz of energy in me had lost an edge to it. I still feel powerful and dangerous, but not as unstable, if it makes any sense."

"Perfect," Regina confirmed, pulling the taller woman into her arms and pressing her lips against Emma's. "Ready?"

Emma hummed quietly before turning toward the door. Taking that in the confirmation, Regina unlocked the chamber and guided them out and to meet Guardian. And, there, beside the dragon were pieces of meat, cut into perfect size for nibbling, sizzling on the fire heated stones, the scent of pork spreading through the air.

"Come, eat," the dragon rumbled as they approached her. "You seem lighter, Knight. Your mate's presence has served you well."

At the words the dragon spoke, Emma felt her cheeks heat up even though she still had not sat by the fire. Her flush was not helped by Regina's lighthearted hum as she sat beside the Lady of the Skies, leaving a place for her between the dragon's foreleg and the brunette's knees. Shaking her head at the smirk her beloved had directed at her, Emma sat down, gently patting the golden limb in greeting, not at all surprised when the great beast lowered her head and flicked her tongue out, the very tip of it touching the center of Emma's forehead.

"Have you shared your teachings, Protector?" the soft and maternal voice reached the women, and Emma, recognizing the dragon's humanoid voice in the meld, looked up at the eye peering at the two of them, aware that the beast was broadcasting her thoughts rather than speak.

"She didn't," the blonde replied softly for both of them. "She had more important things to deal with first," she said, glancing over her shoulder at her beloved, offering her a loving smile.

"You should do it Knight needs to know the true magic of Tintagel before you two confront the last daughter of the line."

"We'll do it, as soon as we get to the Bluff," Emma again spoke for the two of them, bending over to the stones and reaching for the bits of meat, using magic to protect her hand. Tossing a bite in her mouth, she moaned at the soft and juicy flavor, gathering more into her hand. "Morgan's still resting, and honestly, I don't want to deal with her just yet." She leaned back and offering Regina her full hand, she watched as her lover daintily picked up a small piece and brought it to her mouth.

"There are the things to do before the Inheritance ritual, and I still have a message to deliver," Regina joined the conversation, as she picked another piece from Emma's hand. "Gorlois had a lot to say, and even though I've had time, it still isn't fully incorporated yet."

Guardian's soft human-like voice hummed in the minds of the women and the dragon rose to her feet and, after wishing them good night, turned and left for the caves, leaving them alone.

"So, Knight," Regina said teasingly as she turned toward the blonde. "How did you plan for us to get to the House of Healing?"

Emma chuckled as she swallowed the last piece of supper. "Be grateful we don't have to do what I did the last time." Leaning back on her elbows, she pointed with her head toward the cliffs. "I had to climb that."

"Why?" Regina asked with surprise as she looked up, trying to measure the height.

"A teaching moment," Emma replied softly. "Guardian had a point to make. And the secret entrance to the Temple is just before the summit of the cliff." Turning over to her side, she lifted her arm, and gently wrapping it around Regina's upper arm she tugged her lover to lean against her belly, Emma's casual touch radiating with affection as she caressed Regina's shoulder and neck, not caring for the clothes in the way.

"Will you show me?"

"The entrance?" Emma asked in clarification.

Regina just turned her head to see the blonde's face and nodded, taking Emma's hand and bringing it to her lips, even though she still could smell the traces of meat on the fingers.

"Of course. I want to show you that book of prophecies, as well, and, honestly, it's better if we don't go in via the main door." Judging them done with the conversation Emma closed her eyes and breathed slowly, getting in touch with the magic she had received from the Unicorn stallion. "We're going back up the same way we came down," the Savior said quietly, taking away her hand from Regina's and twining her fingers through the dark locks, bending around the brunette so she could bring her head to her beloved's neck, her chin digging beneath the clothes as she sought the warm skin to rub her nose against.

"Shadow?" Regina asked, even though her mind was fighting to stay on the conversation, Emma's lips stealing her breath away.

"And Spirit."

Regina chuckled softly, glancing at the blonde as she moved slightly away, placing her finger against the blonde's mouth. Then, she dropped her hands to her lap and shook her head. "I still can't get over the fact that the white Gallant refused you, the White Knight, and chose the Evil Queen instead."

"Stop it," Emma whispered seriously, her fingers grabbing Regina's chin and turning her head down to meet her eyes. "If you were evil, he'd never come near you," her voice turned firm as she pointed out. "You've changed. You've grown. And, now you'll prove that by arriving on your very own Gallant friend." Leaning in, Emma pressed her lips against the soft skin beside the brunette's mouth, kissing her lover again as Regina's lips sought her own. "And if the White Swan can be the Black Knight, why wouldn't you ride a white horse?" Emma added after the kiss had ended, her voice dipping low. Bringing their foreheads together the blonde hummed, soaking in the almost vibrating air between the, and the closeness their actions of hours before inspired.

"I love you," Regina spoke suddenly, breaking the quiet moment between them. At Emma's amused look, she smiled. "I just can't say it enough. After Daniel, it was... " She sighed and looked into the patient eyes of her lover, now almost fully returned to their previous sparkling green. "I know how precious this is," she said earnestly, not breaking the gaze. "And, I know we're not guaranteed the tomorrows. So, I want to say that I love you because…" She would've said more but the blonde placed her finger against the plump lips.

"I love you, too."

Regina nodded at the honest and serious tone Emma spoke with, before she ducked her head and sunk into Emma's embrace where she remained until their steeds came for them.