Part 6

ENCHANTED FOREST

They landed on hard ground. The impact would probably have damaged the blonde's ribs a bit, but she felt as if she was held by air and knew it was Regina's magic as she could smell the subtle scent of apples and cinnamon. As she got up from the ground, she looked around. They were in a forest thicket, the trees grew so high that Emma couldn't tell whether it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night, everything was shrouded in semi-darkness.

"Do you know where we are?" Emma asked Regina, who was already conjuring up a ball of fire to light the way.

"I think it's the Endless Forest."

"That doesn't sound like something you can get out of." Emma winced.

"Of course not. This forest is an impenetrable labyrinth." Regina scoffed. "We'll be teleporting soon."

"Where? Henry gave you a location?"

"No..." The brunette sighed. "Hold my hand."

Emma complied and Regina teleported them to some clearing over which the castle towered.

"Hey, this castle looks like the one in Henry's book." Emma said in surprise.

"Yes." Regina sighed grimly.

"What's the matter?"

"This is my old castle... I didn't think I'd see it again." Regina frowned.

"You have no sentiment?"

"To a place where I felt like in prison, where I plotted my revenge, where I spent hours alone, where I killed my father..." Regina listed, and with each word Emma grew more and more concerned. "Your father was right, Miss Swan, I am the Evil Queen."

"No." Emma said firmly.

"That's nice of you, but you're Charming after all. But I know my history better and I know who I am. I'll never run away from it because it's a part of me."

"You got rid of the evil queen." Emma reminded her as she followed Regina towards the castle.

"Miss Swan, evil can never be eradicated completely."

"You sound like Hook." Emma was offended.

"And you like your mother, walking kindness and 'never too many second chances' type of person."

"When you sound like that, it's hard to blame you for wanting to get rid of her." Emma sighed and Regina snorted. Emma looked at her grinning. She felt proud that she could evoke such a sound from the serious Madame Mayor ala Evil Queen, but she dreamed of a range of other sounds that would also be music to her ear if they came out of those full, alluring lips.

"I think Snow got under your skin if you talk like that."

"You have no idea." Emma murmured.

"And how's the plan for the perfect wife going? You seem to have put it into action. Your pirate doesn't leave your side. I'm surprised you're even here." Regina said nonchalantly, though the blonde felt, in the tone of her voice, that it was just a game.

"It's not surprising. Our son is in trouble. It's obvious that I'm where I should be. And I'm far from the perfect wife."

"But you listened to your mother." Regina continued.

"Yes!, okay?!" Emma said loudly, annoyed because she didn't want to talk anymore, it was one thing to talk playful banter and another to talk about her private life. "If you want to talk about it, we'd better not talk at all."

"Excuse me, my dear, it's you today or yesterday... I don't even know what day it is... you started meddling with your happiness or, as Charming put it, unhappiness." Regina said angrily.

"Oh, you finally got to the point." Emma scoffed. "I told you you didn't hear the whole conversation. Besides, my parents' opinion doesn't mean much."

"It's interesting that you put it that way when you're doing everything you can to please them." The two women stopped, looking at each other angrily.

"If I remember correctly, your life was dictated by the need to please your parents." Emma said, as if thinking it over. "Let's look at your mother..."

"Don't you dare go in that direction Miss Swan." Regina growled as she approached Emma.

"Oh no, sorry, you were that rebellious teenager who stubbornly said she'd never be like Cora... well look where fate has taken you." Emma was treading on thin ice as she approached Madame Mayor as well, so she could count the wrinkles on her forehead.

"Says an orphan who gave birth to a child in prison, the fruit of a perfect couple who can't form a successful relationship that lasts even a year." Regina pointed out.

"Come on, show how an Evil Queen you are, how much it annoys you that someone can find your weaknesses." Emma spoke, though just for the sake of talking, focusing on how close the brunette's lips were. "If it wasn't for your stable boy, you'd probably never have known love."

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. There was a slap and she felt a searing pain in her cheek. There were tears in Regina's eyes.

Emma instinctively pulled her and kissed her, whispering "I'm sorry." Though Regina resisted, Emma was stronger. She enfolded her in her arms and pressed her lips against hers. Tasting the salty taste of tears. She could smell apples and cinnamon all around her, mixed with a hint of her favorite scent, jasmine. When Regina responded to the kiss, lightning flashed across the sky and a wind so strong that that the surrounding trees had almost fallen to the ground. Regina pulled away from her, looking around uncertainly.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know, you know magic, you tell me." Emma replied with dreamy eyes, wanting to pull Regina one more time.

"Let's go. It's getting dark." The queen said, leading them to her castle.

It was almost night when they reached the gate.

"It's abandoned. And has been for a long time." Emma noticed, peering through the steel bars. The courtyard looked unused for a long time, and the bars were rusty. Everything was overgrown with bushes. She wanted to touch the gate, but Regina quickly held her hand.

"This isn't Boston, Emma. Be careful. Let me check the security first. What you see may be an illusion."

"Maybe? It's your castle, Gina. Don't you remember how you enchanted it?"

"I didn't leave it like that, and I'm beginning to suspect we've landed in a different reality." Regina replied cautiously.

She began to mutter something under her breath, and Emma tried to understand the meaning of the brunette's words.

"Clear. We can go."

Emma pushed the gate open and it swung open with a loud creak.

"Follow me, exactly in my footsteps." Regina warned her.

"Bosses, I like it." Blonde grinned.

"You do realize that since we arrived we've been talking about something other than our son? And it's because of him that we're here." Regina said, treading carefully, muttering spells every now and then.

"You're right." Emma admitted, mentally chastising herself for thinking so little of Henry, thinking only of her own feelings.

"Don't blame yourself. I did the same." Regina comforted her, not pausing for a moment until they reached the slightly ajar door of the palace. Regina put her hand in the crack and listened. However, nothing happened, and Emma noticed that the brunette responded with raised eyebrows.

"What is it?"

"We are not alone." Regina murmured.

As soon as she said it, Emma heard a whistle, she quickly pulled Regina, covering her with herself. She felt a searing pain in her shoulder.

"Emma!" Regina screamed in horror as the blonde staggered unsteadily in her direction. She held her up.

"Who are you and what do you want here?" A voice came from the dark corner of the great entrance hall.

"We come in peace. Let's look for someone close to us." Emma replied loudly, gasping for breath and straightening up to the stranger, seeing how Regina was not eager to talk.

"Who are you?"

"Why don't you introduce yourself first. You were the one who shot at us."

"Because you entered my house."

"It is my house." Regina snapped, walking over to Emma and gently touching the arrow lodged in her shoulder.

"This castle has been abandoned for hundreds of years." The stranger said stepping out of the shadows. He was wrapped in a cloak with a hood, in his hands he had a tight bow with an arrow aimed at the blonde.

"Show up." Emma cried out, trying to get rid of Regina's caring hands, which were pressing on her arm, causing more pain.

The woman dropped her hood.

"Mulan?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"How do you know my name?" The woman was surprised, though the bow did not move in her hands.

Emma tried to focus on the answer, but she could feel the warm liquid running down her T-shirt, she suddenly felt dizzy, and leaned harder against Regina.

"Emma!" Regina grunted anxiously. She quickly turned to Mulan. "Look, you and Emma have known each other for a while... I know it sounds unbelievable, because judging by the look on your face, you're seeing us for the first time..."

"I don't know her, I know you." Mulan growled.

"Yes? I'm in this reality?" Regina raised her eyebrows.

"You're talking nonsense." Mulan hissed. "Everyone knows who you are."

"I don't think..." Regina growled. "Please let me heal her, we promise we won't hurt you." Regina begged, squeezing Emma's shoulder, who had her eyes closed.

"You can't be trusted, you belong to HER!" Mulan snarled, drawing the bowstring tighter.

"Listen!" Regina said quickly, trying to control herself not to throw a fireball at the brunette. "I don't know what you're talking about! We come from a different reality! Let me heal Emma! You don't know her, as you said, she didn't do anything to you!"

"I wasn't aiming at her. If she was stupid enough to save you, let her suffer the consequences." Mulan grumbled, though not as confidently as before.

"I can bear them." Regina spoke with such force that Mulan, surprised, lowered her bow slightly. "Let me heal her, then you can do whatever you want with me."

For a moment, the warrior hesitated, but finally nodded, loosening the string a little.

"One false move and I'll kill you." She warned.

Regina immediately turned to Emma.

"I have to get it out first." she said softly. "It's going to hurt."

"Ok." Emma grunted, barely conscious.

She felt a jolt and hissed in pain. But after a while, she felt warmth and the healing wound. Her consciousness also returned.

"Thanks." She said tenderly to Regina, who was baffled by her tone of voice.

"Enough." Mulan growled. "Sit by the column, over there." She nodded, and though Emma sensed that Regina didn't want to, she lightly grabbed her hand, trying to stop her from reaching for her magic, pleading with her eyes.

Regina sighed, pursed her lips, but obediently sat down next to Emma. Mulan quickly tied their hands. Very cramped.

"You will stay here until I return and decide what to do with you." The warrior muttered.

"Can you let us go, and we'll all go our separate ways?" Emma offered hopefully.

"First I need to make sure how much damage you've done." Mulan said.

"What damage? We only just arrived. We barely had time to look around, seeing no one but you." Emma pointed out.

"Not true." Mulan said, leaning over them. "A wave of powerful magic swept through the forest, and then you came here. I don't believe in coincidences."

"Look, we just want to help our son!" Regina said. "How long will it take you to get back here? Every second counts for us."

"Your son, huh?" Mulan chuckled. "I don't know where you guys come from, but here two women can't have children together."

"It's not like that!" They both shuddered.

"It's complicated." Emma added, blushing as her thoughts involuntarily wandered to dreams of being in bed with Regina, especially when Madam Mayor's warm thigh was pressed against hers.

"You guys are weird." Mulan said, looking at them like at crazy people. "Maybe indeed from another reality..." The woman got up, slung her bow over her back and turned away from them towards the exit. "See you in the morning."

They didn't have time to answer because the warrior disappeared.

They sat in silence. Emma tried to free herself from the bonds, but they were too tight. After a while her hands went numb.

"Stop struggling." Regina murmured, leaning her head against the marble column and closing her eyes.

"I can't feel my hands." Emma replied.

"Jerking is unlikely to relieve you, and since we're tied together, it creates some discomfort."

"Really? Are you going to talk to me in this shitty position with royal manners?" Emma grunted in disbelief.

"You're always a queen, Miss Swan. No matter where you are."

"We have to get out somehow."

"Good luck." Regina murmured.

"You're not going to do anything? What about Henry?"

"I have no influence on what happens to us along the way." Regina replied tartly. "You didn't want me to use magic when my hands were free to do so, so now we just have to wait for Mulan to come back and convince her we're not a threat. You'll talk because you got us into this. And if Henry has to wait, then because of you, Miss Swan." Regina snapped and Emma fell silent. They knew better than to argue when the Queen was worried and in a gloomy mood.

The Savior tried to sleep, but couldn't, as her mind kept wandering around Henry, Hook, and the beautiful brunette whose thigh was still too close to Emma for her to think straight, much less sleep.

"Here I hear your thoughts, Miss Swan." Regina sighed. "They're so loud I can't sleep."

"Sorry." Emma grumbled.

"What's bothering you?" Regina finally asked.

"Are we going to talk about it?" Emma asked hesitating.

"Express yourself more clearly."

"About a kiss, Gina."

"We have to talk about what?" Regina replied indifferently, though Emma sensed a tremor in her voice.

"Stop lying to yourself. You heard Mulan! Our appearance caused a wave of magic! Or was it because of our kiss?"

"Miss Swan, I don't know what you're getting at, but anything other than a mediocre kiss can create magic."

"If it was like that, you wouldn't reciprocate it." Emma replied cheekily. "Besides, I can do more than kissing."

"Your point, Miss Swan? Bad flirting might work on a pirate. Not me. And I remind you, you're married." Regina said reproachfully.

"That doesn't mean I don't feel." Emma sighed, suddenly feeling bad about herself.

"Emma... This is neither the time nor the place to talk about your kisses. It's best to just..."

"Ignore them, right?" Emma said dubiously.

"I'm glad we finally understand each other." Regina said softly.

"So no more kissing?" The blonde asked bluntly.

"You're married, Emma! I hate that pirate, but that doesn't change the fact that he's your husband! And I don't respect people who cheat."

"Just..." Emma hesitated, biting her lip.

"Just what, Miss Swan?"

The Savior fell silent, not knowing whether to continue. It was all nonsense.

"But why when I kiss you, I don't feel like I'm cheating at all..." She finally choked out.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're your parents' child because your morals are ambiguous." Regina sighed.

Emma shrugged.

"I am me. For now, I don't want to be anyone's child."

Regina nodded and fell silent.

Emma woke to the sight of the sun pouring through the upper windows of the palace, for a moment wondering where she was. She couldn't feel her hand.

"You're awake, that's good." Mulan walked over to her and crouched down, undoing Emma's knot, but Regina's not. Anyway, the Queen was sleeping and the blonde nudged her, but there was no reaction.

"What did you do to her?" She growled at Mulan.

"Some poppy seed infusion. She'll wake up in an hour or two."

"Why didn't you put me to sleep?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Because I want an answer and I don't trust it." Mulan replied honestly and Emma sensed no falsehood.

"Ask, let's not waste time." She said, rubbing her hands together.

"Where are you from?"

"From another reality, Storybrooke Maine, if that tells you anything." The blonde replied.

"I don't know what you mean about this other reality, but I've heard of portal travel."

"We came through a portal."

Mulan looked at her searchingly.

"She has magic, do you trust her?"

"With all my life." Emma answered honestly.

"How dare you?" Mulan shook her head. "I don't understand any of this. She... she's HER lover!"

Emma stepped back seeing the anger in the warrior's eyes.

"I don't know who you mean, but this woman here is the mother of my son. I've known her for seven years and I know almost everything about her. She's certainly not anyone's lover, and certainly not someone's woman." Emma replied calmly, adding in her mind, "and if it were to be a woman, it would be me".

Mulan eyed the Savior for a long time, then nodded with a sigh.

"It's weird, but somehow I believe you." she murmured.

"Now can I ask you something?" Emma asked, hoping to find some information about this reality. Mulan nodded. "Who is HER are you talking about? Because my son said the exact same thing to Regina."

"Oh Maleficent."

Emma gasped.

"Wait... are you telling me that in this reality, Regina is Maleficent's lover?"

"Oh yeah... that couple was hated. Maleficent and the Evil Queen. Even though the Evil Queen was nothing like the Maleficent. She kept to the side anyway, like an obedient pet."

Emma laughed.

"Sorry, but that doesn't sound like Regina at all." She said. "And why are you using the past tense? They're not together anymore?"

"The Evil Queen went missing years ago, making Maleficent even more insane. She's almost constantly in dragon form, like to burning villages. There aren't many of us left here... people... I mean..." Mulan said sadly.

"Is anyone here named Aurora and Philip?" Emma asked suddenly, remembering a couple friends with her parents.

Mulan focused all her attention on Emma.

"Prince Philip was my friend. He died defending his wife on their wedding day."

The blonde listened stunned.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

Mulan nodded.

"What about Aurora?"

"The sleep curse..." Mulan replied sadly. Emma remembered that the warrior had more than friendship for the princess.

"Does that mean she'll never wake up? Since Philip..."

"Yeah, she didn't stand a chance..." Mulan confirmed. "But now that has changed."

Emma raised her eyebrows.

"That wave of magic that came with you... I'm going to see if it woke Aurora. But I can assure you that the Dragon will not be pleased."

Emma shook her head.

"Where were you last night?"

"At my friends." Mulan replied uncertainly, looking away.

"You're lying." Emma said softly, suddenly suspicious of the woman's sincerity.

"It doesn't matter." Mulan snapped.

"Look, we've come here to find our son. Do you know someone named Henry? Or at least point us to a village so we can ask there?"

Mulan was silent for a long time, staring at the floor.

"I know one person who could help you..." She replied slowly.

"Show me the way, please." Emma begged, she wanted to get out of this gloomy palace as soon as possible and help her son. Do something, anything, to distract her from thinking about a certain brunette.

"Go west until you reach a small house in the clearing. Grizella lives there. She can help you." Mulan said getting up from her knees, her eyes sad but hard at the same time. Emma heard some movement outside. "I'm sorry, you'd better hide. Or she'll take both of you."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked with both horror and anger.

She tried to reach for magic, but without Regina it was impossible, every time the Queen helped her. She looked helplessly at the sleeping figure of the woman. "Mulan, please..." Emma begged.

"I already helped you. But I have to think about myself. Otherwise I'll never get Aurora back! Go! Now!" Mulan spoke quickly, footsteps outside becoming clearer.

"I can't leave her like this." Emma murmured with tears in her eyes.

"The Dragon will kill you or imprison you if you stay here. I didn't tell her about you. Take advantage of this and if you really came here for your son, then find him and help him." Mulan urged, looking anxiously at the door.

Emma cast one more quick glance at Regina, but knowing what the woman would do and what she wanted, she did only one thing - she slammed her fist into Mulan's face, causing the woman to stagger, not expecting the blow. The blonde turned on her heel and ducked behind a column, close to the entrance. As the door opened, she saw Maleficent with horns on her head heading towards Mulan and Regina. Emma, feeling that this was the only chance to escape, rushed towards the open door and ran without looking back.

She had to help Henry, and then... get Regina back.