Letting the doors slam against the walls in what I thought was a fair amount of rage given the circumstances, Regina smirked as I entered the room where the guards had brought Blue.

True Love; it certainly explained a few things. More, than a few things, I guessed. I was so in love with her, from the moment we met, it should have been obvious.

Had Regina known all this time? I didn't know, but I didn't have the time or the inclination to ask. If Rumple was telling the truth, then I needed to do as I promised and cast the curse before it was too late. Confident as I was in my abilities with magic, I was not looking forward to confronting a pissed off fairy with untold power and the likely- perfectly rationale considering- grudge she would no doubt harbour against myself and Regina for turning against her.

The doors opened a second time as Regina snapped her fingers and as I turned, in walked two guards carrying what looked to me like a cauldron. I laughed, finding humour in a cliché that I knew Regina wouldn't understand as she glanced over to me, confusion furrowing her brow.

I shrugged, deciding the least she deserved was my silence as I watched them place the cauldron before me and step away. "That will be all, gentlemen," Regina dismissed them and came to stand at my side. "Are you ready?"

Casting her a side-long glance, I turned on my heel and marched across the room to where the fairy lay. I gathered what anger remained and channeled it into my hand, plunging it into Blue's chest before my doubts had the chance to resurface. Her eyes snapped open the moment my fingers brushed against her heart and a gasp stuck in my throat as I yanked it out, uncaring of the pain I caused as I quickly retreated from her reach and back to the Queen.

Regina drew me against her, arms folding around my waist as she nuzzled the skin of my neck. She reached up and pressed two fingers to the heart with a growled, "Stay," before setting them back on my stomach.

My eyes flicked across the room, noting the flex of a jaw as Blue ground her teeth and slumped back down. I shook my head and turned back to the heart, searching for something and finding nothing; not a single dark line that might explain that feeling I always had around her. She was centuries old and not once, had she experienced even a moment of grief?

I raised the heart higher and brought it to my mouth, the things I read- the things Regina taught me all coming to me in that moment as I gave my first order. "Tell me why you saved me."

Blue fought her response, nostrils flaring and jaw clenched in an effort to keep the reason from spilling from her mouth. "You were to become the next Dark One," she hissed eventually. "A puppet of the Evil Queen who I would have controlled."

"Power."

I laughed because of course. It wasn't enough that she was a match for the Dark One, Blue wanted the control as well and she was willing to sacrifice whoever she needed to, to get it. Selfish greed, I knew all too well.

"It's never anything original with you villains."

Regina raised the hand on my stomach once more, fingers dancing along the elbow of the arm I held at my side before she captured my hand, heart and hand cradled in the palm of her own. I breathed in, no longer constrained by time as I tilted my head and considered the question she breathed into my ear.

"Tell me why-" I faltered, eyelids fluttering as Regina found and pressed her lips to the spot beneath my ear that made me weak at the knees. "Tell me why you convinced Snow to put me in the wardrobe."

Blue averted her gaze with a sneer. "Your mother was on the verge of declaring a war she had no hope of surviving," she spat. "With you out of the picture, I knew she would be too broken, Regina would consider her loss of you a victory, and I would have had the time I needed to plan Rumplestiltskin's downfall."

Reaching up over my shoulder, I tapped the Queen's cheek; a silent request for her to stop. I couldn't think with the things she was doing. Regina ignored the request, however, and I rolled my eyes as she grabbed my hand, fingers entwined as she turned the attention of her mouth to my wrist.

I sighed and resigned myself to the mounting confusion. Though intrigued by the suddenly amorous Queen, I wanted to know more about the war, and kissing my wrist was at least marginally less distracting than necking. "Tell me what would have happened if Snow had her war."

"Regina would have killed her," Blue replied, her earlier resistance conspicuously absent. "Rumple would have been freed by her death, and he would have joined forces with Regina, snatching you from your crib as she laid waste to what remained of the White Kingdom."

"And you would have ended up right where you are now," I finished, finally understanding. "Tell me; who was I in that alternate time? A Knight? Her Executioner?"

Blue quickly covered her surprise with a grimace but not quickly enough, and I smirked. She scoffed. "You were her wife, known throughout the lands as the Queens of Darkness."

Regina chuckled, the sound humming against my skin as my thoughts scattered, leaving me speechless. She rested her chin on my shoulder, hand curling against my hip, and said, "You underestimated her loyalty to me."

As Blue shook her head, I found my voice again and spoke up. "She didn't know we're True Loves."

The hand on my hip tightened, silence thick but brief as a cheek rubbed against mine. "Are we?" I nodded. "Well that explains a few things," Regina mimicked my earlier thoughts and I laughed, not realizing the tension I felt until I expelled it in a breath of relief.

I didn't notice the sounds of running feet at first, but when I did, it was too late. Snow and Charming burst through the doors as Regina and I spun to face them. I could both hear and feel the snarl curling the Queen's lips and I allowed her control as she guided my hand, letting it hover above the cauldron.

"Emma," Snow gasped, head shaking from side to side. "What are you doing?"

A confidence I never would have thought possible began to fill me and I straightened. I could feel Regina's pride and I let that confidence fuel my words as I replied, "What you asked me to. I'm saving the world."

Before the doubts- before the inevitable conflict I knew would come given time thanks to my conscience, I crushed the heart, Blue's choked cry bouncing off the walls as ashes slipped through my fingers. Ignoring their horrified expressions, I turned in the Queen's embrace as magic infused the room and an errant wind stirred in through the windows.

I basked in the beautiful smile that brightened her already gorgeous face before I buried my head in the crook of her neck. "I want to go home," I murmured as her arms wrapped around me, engulfing me within their warmth- their protection.

I didn't know how Charming or Snow knew, or who might have told them what we were doing but I didn't care. My Queen wanted a curse, so a curse she would have. I cared for nothing- for no one beyond this woman who'd stolen my heart and given me everything I had ever desired in return; understanding, safety, love.

Regina was my home and wherever she went, I would follow.

Yawning as my eyes fluttered open, I stretched my limbs one by one, and then slumped, boneless back to the bed. I sensed those eyes on me and turned my head, a content sigh slipping unbidden from my lips as our gazes met, affection and love staring back at me. I would never grow tired of waking to those dark, expressive eyes.

She grinned, voice deep- raspy, wonderfully arousing. "Good morning, my White Knight."

I frowned despite the little flip my stomach gave. Were we about to begin a scene? Not that I would complain. I mean- I would. Actually. We had to get up, get the kid, go to work. Unless she was giving me the day off, we certainly didn't have time to indulge as we so often did.

Besides, if I was the knight, who was she? Sleeping Beauty?

I snorted at the thought. Regina Mills? Damsel in distress? Maybe when hell froze over. Another knight, maybe, or a Queen? I hummed. Yes, a Queen. The Queen. I could definitely picture falling to my knees in reverent worship of her. I had, in fact, more times than I could count.

Not that that mattered, I reminded myself. Up, work, kid, I repeated, pushing away thoughts of debauchery and sin.

So much sin.

I cleared my throat. "Morning?"

She studied my face, eyes seeming to dart everywhere at once as she tried to find something. I knew that face. It was I-might-be-in-trouble face, but I hadn't done anything that warranted it- I would, there was no doubt about that. Exasperating the woman I loved was far too amusing not to, but I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet.

She sighed, face falling as she muttered, "You don't remember."

My frown deepened. "Remember what?"

"Oh my sweet, sweet Emma. What have you done?"

Her expression broke my heart and I rolled to my side. I lifted my hand from where it lay between us and touched her face. She captured it, pressing my palm more firmly against her cheek as she closed her eyes. "I love you," I said, sincere—hoping.

Why did she look so sad? She was always happy. Sometimes it was actually annoying, how happy she was, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Her lower lip trembled and I shifted closer. "Believe me," she said, mirthless laughter in her next breath. She opened her eyes and my heart clenched as the first tear slid down her cheek. "That is one thing I will never question, and I love you too, more than I thought possible."

Warmth entered my chest, unclenching my heart as my lips quirked in a tentative smile and I brushed away the tear with my thumb. Maybe she had a bad dream? In the two years we'd been married, I couldn't remember her ever having a nightmare, but I suppose there was a first time for everything.

"Are you okay?"

Regina chuckled and, ah, my smile widened. Happy tears. She leaned in, releasing my hand and bringing our foreheads together. Her lips touched my nose and the tip tingled before the sensation spread through me as she kissed me. Nose, cheeks, chin, jaw. My smile grew twice the size, heart full to bursting with love.

"I am the happiest woman alive," she murmured and claimed my lips. I mentally high-fived myself - called it - and sighed, rolling to my back and dragging her with me as I deepened the kiss, delighting in her moan as a hand came up and squeezed my breast beneath the sheets.

I laughed softly as I felt the pressure of her pelvis against my thigh. "As much as I would love to continue this, our son is bound to interrupt with demands of breakfast before we get anywhere."

Her head snapped up, eyes wide as she whispered, "Henry?"

Confusion slowly returning, I tilted my head. "Henry Swan-Mills," I said. "Light of our lives, the one and only. I'll take him to school this morning, since you have that meeting."

"Meeting?" she repeated and I rolled my eyes. For someone who could hold a grudge, her memory wasn't at its best when she first woke in the mornings. She needed coffee, no doubt. Lots and lots of coffee.

"Yes, Madam Mayor," I drawled and reached up, tucking the hair that fell to hide her face from me behind an ear. "Nine on the dot- last night you mentioned something about building a playground and finally reopening the stables?"

Something seemed to click in her head and her face softened, that smile I adored more than anything settling on her lips. Whatever she'd dreamed about, I hoped she'd forget and preferably soon; it was too early for all these changing emotions.

"Very well," she purred and I shivered. God I loved that voice. "But you owe me, Sheriff," she added, kissing me once more before she rolled from on top of me.

"Yes," I agreed, grinning as I threw my legs over the side of the bed. "I certainly do."

The End

Final Note: Most of you probably didn't expect me to end it here, but perhaps you'll now understand the extremely long delay. I hate endings, and writing them is even harder than reading them but I have always intended to end this fic with the casting of the curse, as I also intended a more action-focused sequel. I don't know when I might get around to turning the ideas I have into more than notes hidden away in a folder on my computer, but it is still what I intend- maybe after I finish a few more of my in-progress fics.

I am genuinely sorry if you're disappointed with this ending, but I sincerely hope you're not and I am thankful for all the love you've given this story since its frustration-fueled beginning.