She is going to be okay. She is alive. She will wake up. This has been Emma's mantra for the past half an hour, from the moment Regina's eyes closed and the Princess rushed to reassure her that that was just a reaction to the healing. She never moved from her position, Regina's head resting on her thighs, her hand absently stroking the brunet's hair.

It's a bit hard to wrap her head around everything that transpired in a span of a few minutes. She cut off Hook's hand. There should be some regret about that, horror at her action even if he isn't the same man as her Hook – and she can't help but feel uncomfortable thinking of any version of Hook as hers anymore – but as she looks down at the woman resting in her lap, exhausted from the wound she suffered at his hands, the only thing she can muster is indifference. No, it's what happened next that has her perplexed. She looks at her hands again as if they belong to somebody else. What in the world was that? One moment she was holding Regina, begging her to stay alive, not to leave Henry – not to leave her, but that thought gets pushed down as far as it will go right now – and the next moment there was this pressure in her chest, a beam trying to burst out, and without knowing how she had her magic. She could feel it come to the surface, nearly suffocating her in its intensity, urging her to use it, to do something she didn't even know she could do. And somehow, she did. She tried to do it again, to no avail. Every technique Regina thought her in their lessons was tested, and every single one of them has failed. It's frustrating to say the least, but she rains in her annoyance and refocuses on a sound coming from the side. She relaxes immediately when she realizes it was just one of the horses.

Still she turns to the Princes, whispering to make sure she doesn't disturb Regina. "Are you sure we are safe here?"

"Yes, we are still under the spell which makes us invisible. And here I can use my magic if the need arises."

Emma nods her head and looks back down at Regina. There is some color back in her cheeks, but her breathing still seems a little labored. „You are sure she is okay?"

"I am positive. She was extremely lucky that you were able to get us here, because otherwise…" She lets her words trail off. "It took a lot out of her. My magic can heal her, but she still has to recuperate, replenish the blood she lost."

Emma shudders at the thought of what could have happened, deciding quickly to focus on something more productive. "Do you think it'll be safe to spend the night here?"

"I'd prefer us to make as much distance to that vile man as possible, but there is no choice right now. She has to rest."

Emma nods and takes off her cloak, folding it up and gently moving her legs to the side while placing it under Regina's head. It is a warm night, and the Princess already materialized a shirt back on Regina after she was done, but she still needed to prepare better sleeping arrangements if they were to stay here over night. She takes the bedroll from Regina's horse and places it on the ground, making sure there are no stones hidden under it.

"I am afraid I'd wake her if I were to move her. Do you think you could-"

She is not finished talking and the Princess is already waving her hand to gently move Regina together with her makeshift pillow to her new sleeping spot. Emma gives her a grateful smile before draping a blanket over the brunet. And suddenly she is just standing there, not sure what to do with herself. It was a lot, too much, and she needs to do something, anything to stop her mind from going places she doesn't want it to go.

The Princess looks at her with compassion. "Emma, you need sleep as well. I will take the first guard shift."

She is about to protest, but the Princess does not give her a chance. "You will be of no use to Regina or anybody if you are exhausted. She will not be at full strength when she wakes up, she will need your help. Please."

And Emma realizes that she really is too tired, because she can't even summon enough energy to find a proper counter argument to that. "Fine. But promise me you'll wake me up in a couple of hours. You need some sleep as well."

The Princess nods solemnly, and Emma seems satisfied with it. She puts her bedroll next to Regina's, just in case…of what she is not sure, but she is not really ready to admit to herself that it's as much for her own benefit as it is for Regina's. She lays on her side facing the brunet, watching her chest go up and down, as if making sure once again that she is really alive. So focused on the rhythmic movement she barely notices when exhaustion catches up with her and she is fast asleep.

She wakes up not much later to a pair of brown eyes watching her intently. "It seems that you have justified your title after all, Savior."

There is no usual bite to that word, Emma notices, just cautious wonder and something else, something she is having trouble deciphering. The air is heavy around them and Emma needs to deflect, needs to make this about something else but herself. "Well, I couldn't return to Henry without his mother, the kid would have never forgiven me."

There's something akin to a challenge in Regina's eyes, like she knows there's more to it than that, but to Emma's great relief she never verbalizes it. "In any case, thank you. For saving me, and for taking care of me. You seem to be doing a lot of that lately."

Emma swallows hard and nods her head, desperately trying to think of a way to change the subject. Because, this? This makes her think, and reexamine, and that little voice in her head gets louder, and she can't have that. Not now. Not here. Not when Regina is looking at her like she has never before, like she can see right through her, through her walls and all her defenses, right into her heart.

"Get some more sleep, you need it." Before Regina has a chance to say anything she is already on her feet, making her way to her counterpart. "I'll go get the Princess and take the guard duty."

She can feel Regina's eyes follow her, but she doesn't turn around, the distance as necessary to her as the air. If she can only last until they get back home all of this will be behind them, whatever she is feeling will be a thing of the past easily overcome with usual normalcy. It has to be. Only this time even she can't convince herself that that is true. She shakes her head as she motions to the Princess to go to sleep, resigned to if nothing else do her best and try.

Ride back is slower to spare Regina too much exertion, and Emma is happy that she can actually relax a bit while riding. It's a good thing as well, since they decided to skip stopping for lunch and just ride until they reach the area from which the Queen's spell will automatically bring then back to the castle. They are not that far off, maybe another half an hour of riding, when Emma feels something strange. It's like crackling in the air, a shift in the atmosphere she feels deep down in her stomach. She turns to Regina and can see the same recognition in her eyes, but it's too late. Before she can yell out a warning to the Princess all of them are enveloped in a magical force shield, not able to move or talk. Emma tries to do something, find her magic again, do anything, but nothing is happening no matter how hard she tries.

"No use in struggling, dearies, you'll just end up hurting yourselves." She knows that voice well, that patronizing, mocking drawl of Rumpelstiltskin. She can see him approaching from behind the trees, the beast of Belle's story in the flesh. This is not Gold, though, there is no resemblance there. This is the Dark One in his full glory, something that makes Emma uneasy and not a little concerned.

He walks up to Regina, picking her up off her horse with magic. "A little one handed bird let me know I might find you here, Your Ma-" He suddenly stops, observing Regina closely. "Isn't this interesting…you are not her, are you? I can see why the pirate would be mistaken, though." He walks around Regina measuring her up, and all Emma wants to do is jump down and beat that smirk off his face, but she can't move, her impotency at the situation making her want to scream.

"You don't belong to this world, do you? No, neither you nor your partner over there." He looks between Emma and Regina for a few moments, and then suddenly, as if getting bored with it he drops the older woman unceremoniously to the floor. "You have no magic, you are of no consequence to me."

He turns to the Princess. "Well, this is disappointing." Then there's that cackle again, the sound which makes Emma's skin crawl. "No matter, dearie, I always have a backup plan." He pulls out a small vial from his pouch and dips his nail into it, making a grand performance of approaching the Princess and scraping across her face, leaving an angry bloodied trail in his wake. It takes only a few seconds before she is paling and slumping to the floor, shaking and breading hard. Free from her magical barrier she tries to use her magic to heal herself, but the imp just laughs.

"It will not work. It's a good old run of the mill poison, resistant to magical interference." He holds up a different vial. "This is the only thing that can help, an antidote. See, I found this in a different realm while I was trying to locate my son. Remember him, Princess? Your true love? Your soulmate?"

The Princess looks at him, and Emma is shocked to see compassion on her face as she addresses him, every word obviously taking some effort to get out. "I am sorry he left, I truly am. But I couldn't lie to him. He would not have been happy with me, you wouldn't want that for hi-"

"He loved you! He gave you his heart, his everything, and you left him. You broke my boy…" He is hovering over her, rage radiating off of him, the tension nearly unbearable. Suddenly, as quickly as he lost his temper he calms down, turning to Emma and Regina. "I don't have time for this now. Go, let the Queen know that if she wants her love cured, she will have to come to me. And let her make her decision hastily. The Princess is strong, but she will not last more than a few days." He looks them over once again as if to make sure they understood the stakes properly, and with a wave of his hand he is gone in a puff of yellow smoke.

They ride as fast as they can with the Princess barely holding herself up in the saddle, just making it across the border before they are pulled back to the castle. The frenzy they find themselves in as soon as they are transported makes Emma's head spin. Guards are running, doctor is summoned, servants are rushing around, one almost knocking Emma over as she tries to run by with a water pitcher. She isn't even sure how they find themselves in the couple's bedchamber, a frantic Queen trying to get the whole story from them and a half conscious Princess. By the time they are done explaining, there is such rage in the Queen's eyes that Emma feels like she is standing in front of the Evil Queen in all her glory. She isn't sure what to expect, but she still takes a step to stand protectively in front of Regina, just in case the anger gets focused in the wrong direction. There is no need for it, though. The Princess has lifted her hand to grasp the Queens, and as soon as they touch the Queen's face loses its anger, and refocuses on the Princess with sadness.

"I am here, love, it's okay. I am so sorry. I should have never let you go-"

The Princess smiles, her words slow, but clear. "Are you still delusional in thinking you had a choice?" She squeezes the Queens hand before continuing. "Can you heal me? I know he said it's impossible, but I really don't want to take his word for it."

The Queen nods and concentrates, all of her attention firmly on the Princess, her hands hovering over her body. It lasts for a few minutes before she finally lets out a frustrated sigh. "It's not working. What I have done is slow it down by strengthening you, your organism, but it's still there, progressing." There is a catch in her voice before she continues, obviously struggling not to let emotions overtake her. "I don't know what it is, I have never seen-"

"Ssssh, it's okay. You will find a way, I know you will." The Princess is smiling at her, her face full of confidence.

The Queen looks at her for a few moments before she makes a decision. "I will leave right now. I will find the imp and-"

"No!" The Princess does not let her finish, surprising everybody with the vehemence of her words. "Please, not like that. That's what he wants. He will kill you the moment you show up."

"I am not that easy to kill, love," she says, an unsettling note in her words. "But even if so, if it will save you, it is worth it."

"No, you don't get to decide that. There has got to be some other way."

"It's my life, and I will decide to trade it for yours. Always."

Visibly upset now, the Princess tries to sit up. "Please, Regina. What do you think my life will be like without you? Leave today, but go to my mother. The dwarves are our best option right now, and I am sure she will come around when you tell her the reason."

The Queen's face goes dark at the mention of Snow White. "She will tell me that she was right all along. And this time I will agree."

"Don't you dare!" It takes a lot out of her, but now the Princess is sitting up, holding both of the Queen's hands in hers. "I love you, and I will not have you call us a mistake, nor have you accept blame for anything that might happen to me. You gave me some time, I need you to try and use that time to find a solution which does not include you getting killed." She point's her head towards Emma and Regina as she continues. "They can pretend to be us while you are searching for the solution. Nobody will know the kingdom is vulnerable."

"I don't care about the kingdom!"

The Princess smiles tiredly. "That's not true, and you know it, love. This is our best option. If the dwarves and their dust can't find something for it, they might help you find out which world this came from. We have the beans, we have the means. I just need you to trust me that this is the best option." Regina's eyes finally light up at the mention of the beans, hope suddenly arising in her. "You will find a way. I believe in you. You saved me before, you will save me again."

Tears run down the Queen's face as she bends down and presses her lips gently to the Princess's. "We'll do it your way. I just need you to promise me you will fight and stay alive until I come back. I can't lose you. I ca-"

Her words are interrupted by the Princess's lips leaving gentle kisses of promise all over her face. "I love you, and I will be here when you get back." The Queen sighs and without looking at anybody else she walks out to get ready. As she leaves Emma and Regina exchange a look, an uneasy feeling griping both women, the uncertainty of both their and their counterparts' situation settling heavily on their chests.

Sleep is elusive that night, Emma's mind busy going over the events of the day, trying to discern how exactly things went from bad to worst in such a short time span. There is a light knock at her door, and for a moment she is afraid something might have happened to the Princess, but as she calls an enter and sits up, it's Regina who walks in.

"I am sorry if I woke you." She is twisting a handkerchief in her hands and Emma hurts at how lost she looks.

"It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyhow. Is everything okay?"

Regina takes a few steps forward and hesitantly sits on the corner of Emma's bed. "No." She angles her body so that she can look Emma in the eyes. "I did this. My…the Queen had her happy ending. She was not a villain of her story like I am of mine, she resisted our darkness." There is anguish in her eyes as she speaks, her voice trembling under the onslaught of guilt. "She made it, against all odds. And I showed up and took it away from her."

"This is not your fault, Regina." Emma wishes she was better at this, wishes she was more like Snow with her speeches and less like her usual let's solve the issue with shots self who doesn't know what to say most of the time, but all she can do is try. "It's Rumpelstiltskin's doing. He would have found a way to do something whether we were here or not. You know him, you know this is true." Regina does not seem convinced, so Emma pushes on. "We know him better than they do. If anything, we might be able to help. You are not responsible for her, and the fact that you are feeling guilty over it is a pretty sure indicator that you are not the villain of your story, either. You might have been it at some point but you fought against it, Regina, and you won. You have been a hero for a while now. I'm sorry, but you'll have to accept it." She thinks she notices Regina's shoulders relax just a bit, so she pulls out her trump card. "Plus, I thought that we have agreed it was my fault, my stupid idea that got us stuck here, so if somebody is to blame…"

She is happy when corners of Regina's mouth arch up a bit at that, her face losing some of the tension, before the brunet stands up. "I better leave, you need to get some sleep."

She seems unsure, hesitates just for a moment, and Emma makes a decision. "Actually, I was having trouble sleeping before you came in. I am missing Henry, and my parents, and…well, home. I could use some company. It's a big bed, and I promise to stay on my side."

Regina considers her for a moment and Emma holds her breath thinking if this was too much, if she misread and overstepped and is now expecting the brunet to just turn around and walk out … but she doesn't. With a nod and what for a moment looks like gratitude to Emma she lifts one side of the blanket and lies down, making sure to stay as far to the side of the bed as possible.

Emma mutters a thank you and then there is silence. And if she thought not thinking about things before was hard, doing it with Regina lying in bed next to her makes it nearly impossible. The silence suddenly seems heavy to her, and to break it she says the first thing that comes to her mind. "Did you ever think about it? How it would be if the two of us…you know?" And she promptly wants to kick herself because really, Emma, really?!

Regina turns her head towards her, looking at her with curiosity. "Got together instead of trying to kill each other?"

Emma lets out a breath, happy that Regina doesn't seem disturbed by the question, and just nods her head in affirmative.

"No, not really. You?"

She could lie. She could say no and leave it at that. But she is the one who started this line of conversation and it seems that her honesty would be the least she could offer. "Not until we got here, to this world."

Regina observes her for a moment before her eyes are on the ceiling again as she is contemplating the idea. "It certainly would have made things easier, less complicated."

There is no tension between them anymore, and Emma relaxes into the conversation. "Henry would have been behind it." She smiles. "He would have figured out that that's the way I was going to save you. Make you fall in love with me, thaw your frozen heart, or whatever the fairytale trope is."

Regina chuckles, her eyes back on Emma. "Or he would have thought I seduced you with my dark magical powers, probably would have sabotaged us in every step."

Emma shakes her head in amusement. "That kid believes love wins over anything else too much for that. He'd have been my wingman, I am certain of it." She is thoughtful for a moment. "Even Rumple would have been behind it. He only wanted the curse broken, and we would have done it with true love's kiss…"

There's a wholehearted laugh from Regina at that, and Emma can feel warmth grip her heart at the sound. "You know, now that I think about it that could have been my perfect revenge! Can you imagine Snow White waking up from the curse to find that I have seduced her daughter?" Her eyes are glistening with mischief as she pretends to smacks herself on the head. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

"Hey! I thought you made up with my mom, no more torturing her."

"I just had my curse broken, you have to let me get some fun out of it! Plus, you would have left me as soon as you found out who I was, so it would hardly be a long lasting victory," she points out giving Emma a mock glare.

And it's all joking and fun, but suddenly, suddenly Emma does not feel like joking anymore. Because this hits too close to home, for both of them, and she wants to make sure Regina knows it. "I wouldn't have."

Surprised at the sudden change in tone, Regina focuses on Emma. "Excuse me?"

"I was left so many times, so easily by so many people who I needed the most at the time. I would not have done it to you. I'd have been confused, angry, furious even. It would have taken time to take it all in. But I would not have left you."

Regina stiffens at her words, her eyes focusing once again on the ceiling. "You can't know that."

"I can." Emma believes this with all her being, and she hopes Regina can accept it. Yes, running has been her modus operandi for a long time, but for some reason she simply knows, without a sliver of doubt that she is right on this.

"Look, we could go all night with this amusing hypothetical, but I think we both need to get some sleep." With that Regina turns to her side away from Emma, effectively ending the conversation. "Goodnight, Emma."

Seeing no use in continuing, Emma lets out a disappointed breath and replies "Goodnight, Regina."

She is still looking at Regina's back, feeling guilty that the tension is back due to her own big mouth, and wondering why she feels such a need to get closer to the other woman, to offer her some kind of comfort. Her hand starts moving towards Regina as if on its own volition, and she pulls it back at the last moment without disturbing the brunet. She looks at her hand as if it had betrayed her, and makes sure to turn on her other side, facing the wall. By the time she finally drifts off to sleep there is no more denying of what is happening to her, one final thought popping up in her mind. I am in so much trouble.