The scents of freshly cut cedar and smoky char soothed the pair as they basked naked in front of the fire, and in the afterglow of their first lovemaking. Behind the grate of the hearth, the firewood greyed and crumbled as cinders gleamed hotly, mesmerizing in their dimming brilliance. Specks of ash drifted through the air, like wings of strange but benevolent creatures—spiraling in a slow and delicate dance around the happy couple.

With her energy renewed, Regina disentangled herself from Emma and sat up on her knees in eagerness to learn more. Recognizing the mischievous twinkle in her wife's eyes, Emma pushed herself up from the thick fur and held her hand out to still Regina in her tracks. Though her heart thumped wildly from exhilaration and expectations of the how they would share themselves for the rest of the night, she knew all too well how quickly energy could snuff out like a flame that burned too hot, too fast.

"Not yet," Emma murmured in thoughtful consideration, and she rose to her feet proudly, as if adorned with the finest of clothes. "I have an idea." She stepped lightly towards the vase of wine and secured it under her arm, as she snagged a chalice that had been filled already. On her way back, her free hand snared the wicker bowl filled with fruits, and left the cheese and bread for later to enjoy with the ale.

"I can feel your enthusiasm to carry on and I admire your vigor," Emma grinned, sinking back down to the fur with ease, her legs naturally crossing as she clutched her bounty. "But what I've learned through training and battling alongside our men is that even the fiercest of spirits require replenishing."

With careful hands, Emma set their repast to the side of them, save for the chalice, which she held out for Regina after taking a sip for herself. Emma's smile reflected in her eyes when she spoke, her voice wistful and filled with love. "Earlier when we dined, I found myself avidly watching your lips as you bit into the sweetest of delicacies, though I confess I was not thinking so much of what you were tasting." Coyly, she plucked a large, black grape up and twirled it between her fingers before leaning close to trail the shiny, cool skin of the fruit along Regina's lower lip, popping it into her mouth once it opened. "I request that you enjoy the fruit, drink the wine, and allow me to feast on you as you recline into the plush fur and pillows."

Regina dutifully ate the black grape, and let it rest on her tongue for just a moment before she broke the juicy globe with her teeth. She nuzzled into the hand that fed her, and placed small kisses over each fingertip, licking away the dew that had gathered before closing her lips around Emma's thumb.

Emma arched her golden eyebrow cheekily—the only warning given before she uncrossed her legs and sank low to the floor on her stomach, her hands gliding up the inside of her wife's thighs to part them so that her lips could worship the sensitive skin. Each slow, tender, kiss brought her closer to Regina, and soon she could smell the excitement that clung to her like perfume. Her gentle hands snaked under Regina's thighs and came to rest on her hips, securely holding her as Emma gazed up at her beloved. "I cannot wait to show you my devotion." She whispered, rubbing her cheek against the apex of her thighs. "I trust you will feel it." Then, with voracity, Emma brought her mouth to the smooth, glistening heat of Regina and slowly parted her folds with a languid stroke of her tongue.

Regina kept her head aloft to watch Emma slip her tongue between her spread lips. Tiny quivers went through her shoulders, and Regina moaned at the gentleness—the whispering caresses of Emma's mouth, which told her secrets of the body that only the two of them would ever share. Her hips shook and her knees strayed together on instinct, and yet she held them apart for Emma.

Leaning on her elbows, Regina gazed down at the top of Emma's head, and her breath stopped and started with every wet and passionate swipe of Emma's tongue.

Though Emma had reveled in the sensation of Regina wrapped snugly around her fingers, she couldn't help but feel that this act took on an incredibly more intimate display of adoration, and she moaned her appreciation against her wife as the taste of her filled her wanting mouth. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, yet she craved it now that she had, greedily clutching Regina's hips to explore and map her thoroughly with the soft, flat of her tongue.

The slick warmth that coated her lips and filled her senses combined with the heady aroma evoked an almost intoxicated state of arousal for Emma, and it showed in the slow, deliberate lavishing she intently began.

Delirious with pleasure and a soaring feeling of lightness, Regina could only gape down in awe at Emma until she faltered back with a whimpering moan of confusion. Her belly quivered, every muscle taut as Emma's tongue curled over the small, roseate bud that inspired so many extraordinary urges in Regina. "I believe I have needed this," she sighed out in bewilderment. "Even though I have never experienced this before, it feels as though you are giving me something so essential to my being, which I sorely lacked—something like sunlight, or nourishment. Please, Emma – I am in need of you."

Emma's lips and tongue gave generously and bestowed full and open mouth affection to Regina's newly awakened body.

The softest of throbs beat out a rhythm against her tongue, like the most private of music, and Emma swallowed it back with unabashed enthusiasm while she rolled her skilled muscle against the swollen little bud. How exquisite to experience Regina's building arousal in such a carnal manner, to wrap her lips around the plump bundle of nerves that elicited the most wonderful noises from Regina when she sucked on it longingly. "I've wished for days to love you this way," Emma confessed, pausing in her ministrations to nuzzle the smooth skin of Regina's inner thigh. "And now after my first taste, I assure you, I cannot live without it. I believe, henceforth, that I shall require this of you each day."

Regina pressed her palms flat into the thick fur underneath her, and sank her fingers in to grip firmly as she shook in ecstasy. "I shall gladly give myself to you," she softly keened, and then breathlessly made her own request. "But Emma, could I not taste you while you are likewise occupied with tasting me?"

"You would wish to do that?" Unwittingly perhaps, in all the years that had built up through their betrothal, Emma had never considered that her wife would want to become so acquainted with her. So it was with a slack jawed nod that Emma granted permission. "Would you have me on my side, or—" Unsure of which way to be positioned, Emma bashfully pressed her cheek against Regina's thigh as she finished quietly, "Kneeling above?"

"Right here, beside me," Regina innocently proposed, and without any hesitation or fear of reprobation, she showed Emma just how to lie down and intertwine with her. With her face nestling between Emma's thighs, Regina closed her pouty lips around the little reddening bud that had so lured her attention.

Seductive and yet unaware of her own prowess, Regina stroked her tongue up and down, and then diligently in tight and continuous circles. She gathered up Emma's rich and pungent arousal with satisfied, quiet moans. "You are just as I imagined," she admitted. "Sweet as stone fruit that has been soaked in syrups and wine—and yet also bolder in flavor, like spice and seasonings."

From the first gentle touches of Regina's soft, warm mouth, Emma surprised herself by groaning in contentment. The sensation was so wholly different than the earlier, eager roughness of fingers—not exactly a tickle, but a delicate caress that beckoned her closer, coaxing her hips to move towards Regina and the light fluttering of her tongue.

"I'm pleased you find me so delectable," Emma laughed richly, and then playfully scraped her teeth against Regina's inner thigh. "Though I fear I may never eat a fruit pie again without thinking of this very moment." She teased mischievously, but soothed her quips with more open-mouthed kisses. Her tongue swiped delightfully through the forming slickness to tease at the quivering entrance of Regina.

Emma delved as far as she possibly could into the source of Regina's liquid heat and rumbled in satisfaction. Her tongue glided around the ring of smooth, narrow muscle that led deep inside of Regina—and pushed more firmly into her sex to get a mouthful of her pure and natural taste.

Regina followed her sensual impulses, and rocked into Emma's lips and curiously questing tongue. Grasping at the back of Emma's knees, Regina intently lapped up Emma's fragrant arousal until her lips puckered noisily and her tongue probed passionately into the unexplored and carnal depths of her wife. She met with some expected hindrance—Emma's maidenhead prevented her from sliding inward, but she curved her tongue in the scant space. "Emma," she whispered. "Am I to have this part of you?"

With a gentle swiftness, Emma snaked her hand between her legs and concealed herself. The heat of embarrassment colored her cheeks, and she dared peek down at Regina. "I do not wish to upset you." She began in a hushed tone, her eyes conveying a vulnerability that rarely ever shined through. "As I aged, knowing you would be the one to have our children, I barely thought of it. Then as I grew up, I found myself thinking of taking your innocence. I never developed a desire for you to do the same, at least not like that. But perhaps, one day, you shall have this part of me."

Regina stared back at Emma with round, doe eyes and nodded in deferential understanding. "As you wish, my love," she quietly replied, and it was the first time she concealed her true feelings from Emma. She hid her disappointment and confusion well, though after witnessing Emma's skittishness and discomfort, she experienced a pang of guilt and tried to make sense of the decision. "It's… just a preference, isn't it? Like… the foods you favor, and the clothes you wear, and the activities you enjoy. You prefer I engage in other acts to pleasure you?"

That knowledge fueled Regina, and she tantalizingly wrapped her mouth around the bud between Emma's thighs and gave it a thorough, urgent sucking. Her tongue briskly flicked over the twinging spot, until it positively throbbed against her lips and Emma bucked into her face.

Regina withdrew and then sank into a cat-like stretch in front of Emma. She nestled her face into Emma's drenched sex and artfully swirled her tongue in exquisite and pleasurable ways. Inquisitively, she made soft noises against the aroused folds and sent tiny vibrations through Emma, with each quiet, "Mmm, mmm, mmm."

Her dedicated mouth found a delightful rhythm, and she used both her tongue and lips in concert to stoke Emma's already heightened arousal. "Is this how you imagined your wife? Bowing low between your thighs, and loving you this way?" she murmured. "I truly wish to be all you desire."

Regina knew her station and role alongside Emma—and that her wife would have the final say in all things as ruling monarch. Emma would also have the right and privilege of taking other lovers if she so desired—yet Regina never gave any of that a passing thought until she considered the difference between them now. Emma could withhold her body if she so chose, and Regina never even contemplated it; she belonged wholly to Emma, and while their desires were mutual and equal, she saw quite clearly that their power was not. Emma respected her and would never put demands on her, but the nobles and the citizens in all the lands did—for they expected a child from their union and already acknowledged Regina as second to Emma, the lesser half of the throne.
She began to doubt whether her fate truly rested in her own hands as she had thought earlier, or if someday Emma might command her destiny as her mother warned. Yet Regina trusted Emma with her whole being, and she could imagine no better keeper for her future.

With tenderness, Regina threw herself into the effort of forever endearing Emma to her. "Please, Emma," she softly begged. "Tell me just what you envisioned for this night, so I may live up to the fantasy."

Emma gasped, overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of Regina's warm mouth wrapped around her, creating such wondrous pleasure that ebbed to a fluttering of nervousness low in her belly. "I am not sure." She blurted in confusion, with no regard for how ineloquent she would sound. Had Emma ruined their wedding night by being so foolishly afraid? Perhaps she never should have shared her thoughts, and instead allowed Regina to take of her as she had already taken of her wife. Urgently, Emma moved to rectify the misunderstanding, and shifted to fully face Regina. "I have said the wrong thing. Please, allow me to be clearer." She implored, her eyes glistening with unrestrained emotion as she clasped Regina's hand and brought it to her lips.

"In a way, you are right. Just as I prefer to wear the clothes of a knight… " She trailed off, unable to find the proper words.

Gripped by sudden embarrassment, Emma silenced herself and directed her gaze towards the fire, in fear of seeing Regina's reaction. She watched the flames dance and twist, drawing solace from their movements as she gathered her thoughts. "As you've seen, the Kingdom has never treated me differently for how I dress, and as I trained and fought along side my father, I never felt anything other than myself, though I've never had to express what that meant until now."

Bashfully, Emma flicked her gaze back to her wife. "I was always taught that you would have our children, because your mother wanted that. It had been agreed upon long before either of us took our first steps. I heard stories over the years from your land. Of the…" Emma felt her face contort before she could stop it, and she carried on in a whisper, "Ways in which innocence would be proven, and the pain it often entailed for the women involved, and it scared me. The men in your culture seem to take their brides' blood without care or concern, or any regard for the pleasure they might give in return. I never wanted to be one of those brutes, and in my fixation on being everything I could be for you, I never realized that you might want me in the same way. And I never questioned myself on why I never thought of you having that part of me. I suppose in some ways, I intentionally ignored this part of myself, as it made me uncomfortable, just as the dresses my mother had me wear for you did."

Cautiously, Emma reclined into the thick fur and released a shaky breath. Never before had she felt so vulnerably naked as right then, when her hands lowered between her open thighs to spread her glistening folds, exposing herself as much as displaying the most hidden area for Regina's eyes only. "You must think of me as a coward," Emma barely whispered. "Make no mistake, Regina, this belongs to you too. You may look, and touch, and one day perhaps you may take it. It is no less yours. Do you understand?"

"I do," Regina faintly replied, with dreamy and expressive eyes that bespoke her sincerity. "I would never accuse you of cowardice, not when your fears and desires make so much sense to me. You needn't worry that I will ever judge you, Emma." She docilely hung her head, but then tucked herself into her wife's side, and with brazen intrigue, she studied the part of Emma that for now was hers to view alone. If the situation left her feeling bereft in any way, she had the wherewithal not to convey it aloud. Bundling another thick fur around her shoulders, she sat upright before the hearth and raised her hands out in front of her, as if she might reach into the fire. "May I offer you my love in other ways?" she asked. "You must have other passionate longings, for what else could have occupied your mind when you thought of me earlier this week and intimately explored yourself?"

The soft sparks and crackles from the fireplace quieted Emma's anxiety, even though she still smarted over Regina's sudden withdrawal. Had she not been pleasing to look upon? Was she different to what Regina had hoped for? Clearing her throat, Emma lifted the chalice of wine and took a liberal sip to fill her with courage. "When I engaged in such an activity by myself, I derived pleasure from thinking of touching you." Emma quietly confessed, gazing at the dark liquid that sloshed as she moved her hand. "Perhaps I am strange to utter such things out loud, yet it is truth." She paused then, the tip of her tongue wetting her lips nervously. "You surprised me when you wished to use your mouth on me. If you enjoyed it, and only if you truly did, then I welcome that favor."

With her head glumly lowered and her knees pulled up close to her chest, Regina listened to Emma's suggestions. Her despondency lifted as soon as Emma disclosed just what she could do—and Regina cheerfully pounced on her wife. "I want you for my own," she imploringly whispered. "And this seems to be a most passionate way for me to have you. Perhaps it is narrow minded to think you could only be mine if you relinquished that part of your body to me. I am still your lover, and I take you as you are, Emma—with absolute respect for your desires. I wish to kiss you intimately."

Drawing Emma into a loose embrace, Regina smiled demurely and burrowed into her chest, then bent low between her thighs. Her sweet declarations no sooner ended than she reverentially kissed Emma's soaking sex, with a changed perspective of what this meant to them both. She shut her eyes and let her tongue swirl in endless patterns around the firm bud between her lips.

Whatever icy fears that knotted and tightened Emma's gut soon melted from the outpouring of passion that Regina expressed emphatically. "You have me." Emma husked in awe. "I am yours. And I love you all the more for your compassion and understanding in this moment. You truly are exceptional, Regina."

Emma's arms and jaw slackened at the first brush of Regina's tongue, and she reclined blissfully into the thick fur with a hushed moan. Of their own will, her hips lifted and her thighs parted further to give herself fully to her wife, and Regina accepted her offering with abandon. "Oh," Emma whimpered, clutching at the plush fur as her eyes rolled back and her breath hitched. Aimlessly she brought one hand up to splay against her chest, and then flung it outward to drag across the stone floor. "Regina…" Emma breathlessly moaned, cherishing the slow building pleasure.

Regina relished every little palpitation of the tiny swollen peak that her lips captured rapturously. She nosed into damp, sun-kissed golden curls, and formed her tongue to the shape of Emma, licking dedicatedly as she distinguished between each response she inspired.

Emma quivered almost violently when Regina began to loop her tongue—flitting it over her aching bud, and down to the gush of sensual nectar that collected at her opening.

This consummation was no less special, even if it defied all of Regina's impressions of what she believed would take place on her wedding night. She moaned soft praises into Emma's dripping sex, and drove her tongue with greater force against the part of Emma that was hard like a bead.

In throes of lovemaking, Emma rocked into her, and Regina's mouth and chin glistened with a generous coating of Emma's liquid pleasure. "For now, and always…you are mine," Regina breathed.

"Yes," Emma gasped readily. "Now and always." She reiterated, her limbs jerking as tendrils of euphoria went through her like thunder shocks, sparking through her nerves and burning her with an all consuming need that drove her hips upwards. This surpassed the delightful blossoming warmth that she brought with her own hands, and she could do nothing but surrender to Regina's demand of her body. A soft keening sound echoed from her chest, foreign to her own ears, but no less pleading, though what she wished to say alluded her until all that finally escaped was a shaky, almost silent, "I'm yours."

Heat radiated off of her skin, leaving her breathless and delirious with desires and needs she never knew she had. Urgently, Emma's pelvis lifted to beg for more while her hands sought out Regina desperately for contact. One clasped over her hand to entwine their fingers, while the other slipped into her hair with a slight tremble. "Please…" Emma quietly implored, "I need more… I need you."

Regina held fastly to Emma's hand, and lavished her with lively sweeps of her tongue. "I will give you all that I am—all that I have to give," she ardently promised.

Pushing her backside up into the air, Regina sank down even further and immersed herself in Emma—fully burying her face in her sopping center. She craved the luscious taste of her, and swallowed it down as she moved her tongue to satisfy Emma's growing need. Her efforts were rewarded with another cascade of warm arousal, which left her lips shiny and pleasantly sticky.

Regina's tongue coaxed another long, low moan from Emma, and Emma found herself unable to remain still, as though possessed with unabashed desire that left her writhing against her wife's eager mouth. "Please…" Emma groaned, sounding less like a princess and more like a common villager trying to strike a bargain, though what she begged for was unclear even to herself. All she knew was that she longed for the warm wetness of Regina's mouth and she required it like the air she greedily breathed.

Every fluid roll of Regina's tongue brought Emma nearer to a pinnacle of release and made her feel as light as a banner flying in the breeze on a mountaintop. All of her strings stretched until she tore free, and her body shuddered from the spectacular sensation of drifting back down again. A hot stream poured out of her, soaking Regina's face and the fur underneath her, but Regina persuasively latched onto her sensitive bud and prolonged the sublime feeling. Lunging forward, Regina kept up her provocative licking. "Yes, Emma," she affirmed. "Just like that, my darling. Please. For me."

The noise that escaped Emma was guttural and raw, and lights sparked to life behind her eyelids to explode within her like bursts of magic that left her gasping. Yet Regina was relentless and Emma had no will to resist the glorious puckering of her wife's lips, or the intensity it brought as Regina blessed her with the most exhilarating sensation of being sucked on. It elevated Emma's high and brought about the strongest convulsing spasm of pleasure of her life, as tingles ricocheted through her abdomen and she pulsed against Regina's mouth. Emma's body strained upwards with a cry of "Regina!"

Drawing her mouth tautly around the small peak, Regina closed her eyes and listened to Emma's harsh breathing. She gave tiny pulls on the tender bit of flesh, and rubbed her lips together around it. Her intimate kisses persisted, and she fully enveloped Emma with her mouth, to rest her tongue against that special part of her and continue to gently suckle. The pearl tingled against her lips and she lovingly sought to grant Emma a much more powerful relief.

Emma's body shook wildly from Regina's fervent enthusiasm. Her insurmountable pleasure became laced with a surprising twinge of pain when her over stimulated, sensitive little bundle of nerves swelled and hardened between Regina's lips. A choked noise caught in Emma's throat and her hips pushed forcefully upwards one last time as the expanse of her body went suddenly rigid. It felt as though her very soul had ascended into the sun and for a few precious seconds she remained still as her climax caused more liquid heat to spill from her. Then she slumped, feeling boneless and dizzy, and so dazzled by Regina's expression of love.

Regina settled down with her head positioned over the center of Emma's chest to listen to her frantic heartbeat. She tucked stray curls behind Emma's ears and kissed her sweaty forehead. Regina's chin and nose were pink from the vigor of her activities, and her eyes gleamed with merriness as she reached for the basket of fruit they had put aside. Dangling a cold grape above Emma's lips, she fed her to help ease her recovery. "I love you," she murmured. "You seem even more exhausted than you usually do after you've been sparring. I think you need to rest."

"And I love you," Emma throatily whispered, her lips ghosting against Regina's ear. "I feel wonderful, and quite incapable of moving," she laughingly stated with a lopsided grin. "I am drunk with passion." Plucking the grape with her lips to chew lazily, she cast her eyes up at the ceiling where it was always day, at the painted clouds and chubby, winged angels.

With so much youthful mirth that no one would dream of denying her, Regina leant forward and whispered almost conspiratorially, "Emma, why don't we lie in bed now and tell each other stories?"

Beyond the walls of the bedroom, all of the wedding guests retired to their chambers to sleep, and guards took up their late night posts.

Emma felt hazy, coated in soft warmth that she happily sank into, as her hands weakly snared Regina around the waist. She nuzzled into her wife with quiet, satisfied hums of contentment.

"How can I possibly say no to such a sweet request?" Emma smiled brightly, and with a grunt of effort, managed to find her feet. Unfortunately, they were unsteady, and she all but tripped over herself before grabbing onto the side of a table for balance. She wobbled like a newborn fawn, yet with a little help from Regina, they tumbled into bed and each other's arms in no time.

Emma rolled onto her side and pulled Regina into her to kiss slow and deeply for a long moment, until her body demanded air and she pulled back gasping. "Will you share with me a story from your land?" she asked curiously, her eyes shining with adoration as she brushed the tip of her nose against Regina's. "One of your favorites."

Regina whisked her fingers lightly up and down the inside of Emma's arm, and snuggled delightedly under the thick blankets, although she still fidgeted like she was too excited to sleep. "There are so many I could tell you," she considered. "A bard came to our kingdom when I was a girl, and he told the most lovely stories about knights who went through trials for the women they would marry. It's going to be difficult to choose a favorite. I believe I was most charmed by a tale about a King who met an untimely end, and how the Enchantress he loved came for him by boat. She took him away to a mystical isle where apples trees grew. I used to wander through our orchards and pretend I had stumbled upon the Enchantress and her magic. I must admit, spell casters frighten me, but in stories they are sometimes benevolent, and for some reason I commiserated with the Enchantress. I wished to be like her, even if she did possess extraordinary and dangerous power."

Apart from what she learned from those stories, the only magic Regina had ever known was harmful and she feared it greatly.

"There's another story of a witch who lived in a cave, and a company of fearful men who went out to confront her," Regina rambled on, unaware of the peculiar shift in Emma's mood or how her wife self-consciously hid her hands out of sight. "I always felt sorry for the witch in the tale, because the knights inflicted a mortal wound and she bled to death. She must have done something quite awful to provoke them. I used to imagine she was like my mother, and that her power must have been terrible. It's not that I believe my mother is truly wicked, but magic does have a hold over her, and she spent many years studying her craft. Without my father to rule at her side, she was vulnerable, and might have been usurped otherwise. But it's taken an awful toll on her. It's changed her."

"These are…" Emma's tongue felt thick and cold, while her stomach twisted strangely. The subtle rising of hairs along her arms brought with it a dusting of fright that Emma concealed with a frozen smile. "Quite interesting stories, my love. Are there any which have happy endings?"

Tucking her hands against herself worriedly, Emma reflected on how each tale Regina told revolved around women with magic, and the way Regina had described them. Whether feared or admired, Regina placed an emphasis on how dangerous and terrible these women could be, and it struck Emma that the one thing she'd been excited to confide in her wife would be the one thing she now couldn't, lest it tear their marriage apart. Her magic.

And yet, if Emma neglected to share her secret, Regina may react to it as a betrayal, and again their union would be irreparably torn. Perplexed, Emma hurriedly insisted, "In our Kingdom there are faeries which wield light magic, and good sorceresses that practice it. They do no harm. They protect people and only do generous things with their special gifts."

Emma began to struggle to take in air, and she turned on her side as panic gripped her ribcage, squeezing tightly until her lips tingled. "Like the decorations for our wedding," she whispered into a pillow.

"Faeries can be quite discriminating about whom they help," Regina argued, although she tensed with the impression that she had been too outspoken. "Anyone with an abundance of power can be good, but all of the magic I've seen has been possessed by those seeking to commit some form of treachery," Regina explained. For years, her tutors educated her about the importance of never openly disagreeing with anyone at court, least of all the Princess Emma, but her strong feelings got the better of her and she shook her head.

"Everyone has the potential to discriminate," Emma countered. "It has little to do with magic. Not all Queens are wicked, and not all Kings are kind. Any and all power, with or without magic, could be abused in the wrong hands." She calmly reasoned with Regina, if only because she retained enough clarity in her panicked state to remember how to appear composed, despite how very undone she felt on the inside. Emma wished to cry, yet no trace of it showed on her face or in her voice, and despite the circumstances she knew her mother would have been proud that she'd kept her equanimity.

"I just don't like magic," Regina huffed out, unwilling to recant, or provide a better rationale for her thinking on the matter. "It might seem fantastical to everyone else, but it scares me."

"Yes, I can see that." Emma softly commented. "After experiencing the punishing spell your Mother placed on us, I understand why."

"Oh, that one wasn't so awful," Regina admitted with a chuckle of defeat, before she could suppress or more carefully word her opinion. Fearfully, she glanced at Emma and then turned away, shamefaced and upset. "But none of it matters now, Emma. I have done just what she has always wanted. There is no reason for her to be unhappy with me now. She won't harm us again, I promise you."

"No, she most certainly will not," Emma fiercely agreed. Cora had clearly raised Regina by cruel means and with a stern hand, and dark magic was how she enforced discipline.

Despite Regina's assurances, Emma held no doubt that Cora's intentions would never be to relinquish control over her daughter, especially now that Regina stepped closer to power. A heavy weight settled atop Emma the more she considered it.

"I didn't wish to ruin our night." Suddenly distressed, Regina wiped at unbidden tears on her cheeks, unable to put an end to their stubborn trickle. She spun back towards Emma and cuddled into her, finding comfort in this long awaited embrace. "I suppose magic could be a wonderful thing in the right hands. The Enchantress who lived on the isle of apples seemed like she was good. She saved the sick and wounded, and taught druids how to cast ancient spells to predict the future. I would like to know our future, Emma, and how many children we shall have. The elders in my land gave me charms to ensure my fertility for when we engage in marital union. That is a form of light magic that does not frighten me. They also swore to my mother and the entire court that they saw a future in which I would be a great and powerful Queen."

Protectively coiling her arms around Regina, Emma's nervous disposition began to ebb at last when a flicker of hope presented itself in her wife's speech. Perhaps all was not lost. "I think you will be a wonderful Queen," Emma responded softly, her thoughts returning to the first time she had lain eyes on her bride—and how Regina had reacted to the child that had run to her, with compassion and tenderness rather than scorn or resentment. "Our children will be fortunate to have you as a mother."

Regina grew still, and squinted thoughtfully at Emma as a smile began at her eyes and then at last appeared on her lips. "Only if I'm good at it," she quietly laughed, although tears still clung to her cheeks. "I expect we will both have a lot to learn when we become parents. There will be time for all of that, and hopefully time for us to have our own adventures before we undertake that one together."

Despite her trepidation over what the future held for them now that Emma knew Regina's beliefs when it came to magic and those that possessed it, Emma couldn't help the smile that touched her lips as Regina's eyes lit up at the mention of motherhood. "Yes, we have much to discover about ourselves and each other before we take that journey together," she replied.

Regina folded herself into Emma more fully, and then peered out at the darkened bedroom—at the shadows that would have spooked her if she had been alone. "It must be the late hours of the night, or even early morning. I don't hear much noise echoing from the halls."

Emma once again wrapped her strong arms around Regina and held onto her as much as the hope that they would live a long, and happy life together. "I believe the rest of the castle slumbers as we speak," she remarked. "Perhaps we too should rest, for I suspect tomorrow will bring another new adventure."

"Yes," Regina readily agreed, and yawned softly from the thought of sleep. She sensed a strangeness between them—a first which left her ill at ease, since she must have in some way caused it. On the verge of apologizing, she saw that Emma had already closed her eyes, and woefully forced herself to do the same. "Goodnight my love," she quietly breathed. "I look forward to spending the day together, and seeing where it takes us."

We so appreciate all of your comments! You'll find out more about what Cora did later on, but for the sake of simplicity and putting everyone's minds at ease: it was a memory spell to make Regina forget her moment of rebellion. We hope you enjoyed this chapter, and we'd love to hear from you if you feel so inclined to leave us your thoughts! Thank you! :)