Epilogue

"Your Highness."

"Good morning, Princess!"

"Hello, Herald Emma."

Emma smiles, waving off every polite greeting with a chipper reply of her own. Summer has come in full force and she's taken to wearing a sleeveless White tunic, the fabric almost form-fitting on her, much to Granny's dismay. (The upside to being royalty is that she has a seamstress, and though most were baffled by her very unusual new clothing designs, Granny was the only one who openly complained about her choice of dress. "Good lord, child, how is anyone to compete when you show off arms like that?")

The sun is warm on her skin, lightly sun-kissed and sporting old, black scars that look almost like tattoos more than anything, streaking across her arms and disappearing beneath her tunic. Her wild blonde hair is up in a loose ponytail this morning, errant curls falling to her cheeks. Her green eyes sparkle and her smile is infectious as she heads back into the royal palace after having had breakfast in the common room of the Collegium. She has a private breakfast with her parents in the palace on most days, but she enjoys socializing in the common room too, relishing in the sense of family and comradery amongst her fellow Heralds and trainees.

"Emma," Snow calls out when she and David see her approaching from down the hall. They look like they're just about to go out for a leisure ride.

"You're looking cheerful," David notes, smiling warmly at his daughter. Emma bounces on the balls of her feet and grins.

"For good reason," she says coyly.

"And do we get to know what it is?" Snow quirks a brow at her, amused.

"Not yet, but soon. Very soon, I hope."

"Alright," Snow laughs, pecking her on the cheek. "Enjoy your day, sweetheart."

Bidding them a goodbye, Emma slips into her bedroom and retrieves what she needs from her vanity table, humming a cheerful tune to herself as she heads back out. She takes the long route through the Collegium grounds, pausing by the pond to wave at where Jefferson splashes in the water with an entire gaggle of young, mischievous trainees. At the training corral, Ruby and Baelfire work with trainees just starting on short swords, each child working dutifully with a wooden weapon in hand. Baelfire still walks a little lopsidedly, but he's long since ditched the cane, every bit as good as any other Herald.

Hopping up on the fence near where Baelfire is turned away sparring with a trainee, Emma leans towards him and howls out a battle cry. He gives a decidedly girlish shriek and twists around, only for the trainee's attack to smack him across the ass.

"Ow! Bloody—" He drops the wooden sword and rubs at his rear end, scowling at Emma while the trainees burst out in laughter at his expense. Ruby is nearly doubled over, tears in her eyes. "You're an arse, Swan."

"It's Princess Arse to you," she snickers, hopping off the fence. Ruby strides over, grinning.

"What's got you in such a playful mood?"

"It's a good day," Emma says with an innocent shrug.

"Good day? Sunday mornings are a good day. Wednesday mornings letting these little monsters beat on me is a questionable one." He narrows his eyes at her, thinking hard. Then his eyes widen. "Oh. Oh. Is today the day?"

"What day?" Ruby asks.

"It's the day. A special day. I hope." Emma beams, already trotting away. "I'll tell you later, Ruby. Wish me luck, Bae!"

They wave her off as she heads for the stables, peering inside for a familiar face. Lily, Mal, and Kathryn are gathered together with their Companions within, chattering together as Kathryn cleans saddles while Lily and Mal brush Drogo and Ember.

"Has anyone seen Regina?" Emma asks as she bounds over, smiling warmly in greeting as the three women look up at her.

"Not since breakfast," Mal offers, reaching over to swat her daughter when she catches Lily staring. "Behave, child of mine."

"Ow! What? Scars are sexy," Lily whines, which only coaxes a full laugh from Emma as the two young women lean against each other, arms slung around waists, grins easy. "Why do you ask, Swan?"

"Don't you remember what today is?" Emma says, wagging an eyebrow at her friend. Lily's eyes widen in surprise while Mal and Kathryn look on, curious.

"Oh. Oh! Already? Havens! Well what are you doing talking to us here? Go find your woman, Emma!"

"Alright, alright," Emma chuckles, hurrying away when Lily slaps at her rear end. Kathryn smiles and shakes her head while Mal pins her daughter with a look.

"What was that about?"

"You'll find out soon from Regina, I'm sure," Lily grins, and says no more.

"Ginny!"

Regina squints open her eyes, blinking into the morning light. She'd dozed off, and the patch of tree shade she'd been laying under has long since moved away. Emma stands over her, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"Mm. Hello, darling," Regina murmurs affectionately as Emma flops down next to her. A few feet away, Mercy and Bug lay curled together in a heap, the stallion snoring softly.

"Well that explains why he didn't respond to me, the lazy bugger," Emma says, laughing at the sight. She leans over to kiss Regina sweetly, humming in delight when fingers wind into her hair to hold her firmly in place. When they finally come up for air, Emma is fiddling for something in her pocket, still smiling toothily.

"What has you in such an excitable mood?" Regina asks, quirking a brow at her as she remains comfortably laid out on the grass, her hands folded neatly on her stomach. Emma just grins and finally whips out what she'd been looking for, holding the item just over Regina in plain view.

The silver ring—and the beautiful blue quartz set in it—glitter in the sunlight.

"Marry me."

Regina jackknifes up into a sitting position, almost whacking her forehead against Emma's hand and the ring.

"What in Haven's name are you doing?" she gapes.

"A year ago, you told me I wasn't allowed to propose until a year had passed," Emma explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "So here we are. Marry me."

Regina stares at her for the longest time, disbelief in her eyes. Emma stares back with so much love and adoration in her gaze that she cannot help but to give a startled laugh.

"By the gods, Emma."

"Is that a yes?" Emma tries, expression hopeful. Regina just grabs her face and pulls her in for a searing kiss, devouring her passionately until both are ragged and panting for air.

"Of course it's a yes, you idiot," Regina breathes, their lips brushing together. Emma pulls back just enough to slide the ring onto her finger, beaming as it settles perfectly in place.

"That's it, then. You're my Lifebond and my wife. There's no taking it back."

Regina chuckles, deep and husky. "I would never, Em." She tilts her face up, eyes staring deeply into each other, melting in pools of brown and green. "I love you."

"I love you too." And then she tackles Regina, pinning her to the grass and kissing her silly, groaning with pleasure as the brunette flips her over and takes control.

::I hope you realize there are trainees around,:: Bug tells them both, amusement thick in his voice. The women put a halt to their make-out session with embarrassed little laughs but remain where they are, Emma on her back, Regina laying neatly atop her, arms encircling each other and noses touching.

Next to them, Mercy gives a happy sigh and readjusts herself, her long neck draped elegantly over Bug's side.

::About time,:: the mare teases, catching sight of the glinting ring on Regina's finger. Regina wrinkles her nose playfully at her Companion with a fake glare.

"Let's have a child."

Emma, once again, has her nearly choking in shock.

"What? We haven't even gotten married yet!"

"But we will," Emma says, "and you've told me how much you are looking forward to having children. You enjoy working with the young trainees so much. Come on, let's start planning it now!"

"I didn't mean— right now? Havens, you really have no patience, my love."

"Can you imagine it?" Emma says dreamily. "An entire clutch of children. I want them to have your eyes and your hair."

"We are starting with one, Emma."

"You and me, Regina. Mothers."

Emma stares up at her, green eyes shining, overflowing with love. Regina feels her own eyes well up because how has she found a best friend, a lover, a partner, in someone who trusts her and adores her so completely? How did she ever deserve such happiness?

::It's about time, don't you think?:: Mercy says softly, eyes glittering at her from where she lays curled up against Bug. ::You deserve this. You both do, darling.::

Emma nuzzles her face in against Regina's chest with a happy purr and Regina rolls onto her side, taking the blonde with her so that their bodies can fit together like perfect puzzle pieces, their pendants slipping from their necklines and resting on the grass between them. To this day, Regina still wears the swan, and Emma still wears the tree of life.

Regina smiles and presses her lips to blonde hair.

:Yes we do, don't we?:

THE END

Thank you so much for reading! This fic has a special place in my heart and I hope you enjoyed following Emma and Regina's journey as much as I did. All my love and gratitude to the lovely people who run the SQ Supernova, giving me the inspiration needed to pump out this monster fic in just two months. And as always, special thanks to my readers and followers; you guys are the reason I keep writing, sharing the love of Swan Queen as much as I do.

If you haven't already, please pop over to Twitter and follow me at RealNikiFrost (or Tumblr at Niki-Frost) for future updates, art posts, and SwanQueen-related gifts and giveaways! Stay regal, my darlings!