Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any recognizable characters.

AN: Instead of studying for finals, I wrote a fic for the Princess Emma and Lady Regina gifsets and manips that have floating around Tumblr. Shipsnthenight's gifset was particularly inspiring: shipsnthenight . tumblr (period) com / post / 80669520656 / swan - queen - au - reginas - family - is - invited - to - the (Remove the spaces and insert the period)

Regina had just barely escaped the ball room undetected. She had had enough of the Duke of Westley and his wandering hands. Her mother had accepted the dance for her when the thin, balding man nearly ten years her senior had asked for her hand on the dance floor, and knowing her mother and the repercussions that followed should she decline, Regina had no choice but to allow herself to be led to the middle of the White Castle ballroom where the presentation of Princess Emma would soon commence.

Before the Duke could commandeer her for yet another dance, Regina had bowed her head gracefully and claimed she needed to freshen up. She didn't give the older man a chance to persuade her to stay, and with the dignity bred into her from when she was born, Regina held her chin up high and turned briskly, long curled locks billowing in its wake as she turned from the floor. As soon as the large oak doors behind her closed and the jovial laughter and chatter from the ballroom muted to a low hum, Regina exhaled heavily and dropped her chin, scowling at the pale blue silk dress her mother had magicked her into.

She lifted up skirt and let it drop with unveiled disgust. Her mother knew she never liked attending frivolities like this, but one's trajectory must always move up. Cora's words were ingrained in her brain, but one's trajectory shouldn't matter if the heart was happy. At least that's what Regina clung to whenever Cora was angry.

She sighed and wandered aimlessly throughout the White Castle halls, passing by portraits of past monarchs. The only ones she was familiar with were King Leopold and Queen Ava, the Kind and the Just, and their daughter, now Queen Snow and her shepherd turned Prince husband, King James. A small baby girl in a frilly pink dress that nearly swallowed her whole was held lovingly between the two parents, and for a moment, Regina wondered what it would have been like to be raised here, parented by a mother and father who loved so freely. Her children would certainly know love, that was a fact.

As she ventured further and further away from the grand hall, the sounds of music and laughter faded with it. Her mother would notice her absence eventually, but the last she had seen of Cora was when she was speaking with the Queen Regent of the Western Waters, so that gave Regina a little under an hour to explore and return without causing an uproar. Perhaps she would be able to find the stables. She had seen the horses out the previous day and wanted to have her go at riding, but having tea with the other Ladies of the kingdom took precedence. Her little adventure may be her only chance to see the White Kingdom's famed Agrabah stallions up close.

As her thoughts skimmed over possible routes to the stables, Regina noticed the sound of music returning. She cursed herself and turned around suddenly, believing she had travelled only in a circle, but that wasn't possible. Her ears strained to pick up the melody and realized it was not the string orchestra of the ballroom, but rather a tinny, high pitched song. Looking around her to find the source of the music, she held her breath when she heard a voice.

"Dammit."

The curse had not thrown Regina off. She had heard the servants in her manor say as such when they believed she couldn't hear, but it was the fact that it was feminine and flustered that gained Regina's attention.

Behind a partially open door, the music grew in volume, and Regina crept to the opening and peeked through the slit. On the table in her eyesight, she could see a large music box, a prince and a princess dancing in the same route of circles and the cork attached to the base turning as the music played. Along the walls of the room, from what she could see, were shelves and shelves of books and scrolls. She waited a moment, wondering if that disembodied voice would make herself known, but perhaps she had exited from a separate door for not another sound was heard except for the whine of the music box.

But then she saw her.

Through the slit of the doorway, a tall woman clad in a gorgeous blue chiffon dress, tulle adorning her shoulders making her look quite angelic, and her yellow blonde hair pulled into a loose bun at the base of neck, and though the woman tried with frantic fingers to brush the strands back, a few locks escaped its hold to frame just over the young woman's face.

She was twirling, her hands up, held by an imaginary partner, as she stepped to the beat of the music. It was then Regina realized the source of the blonde's frustration when the young woman tripped over her own feet and scrambled to get back her timing.

The giggle escaped before Regina could press cautious fingers to her lips, and suddenly the door was wretched open, and she was standing before the mystery woman whose eyes were wide with embarrassment and anger.

Regina held her breath, waiting for the other woman to make a move as she watched the features of the blonde's face shift from its initial embarrassment and anger to curiosity then knowledge.

"You're Lady Mills' daughter."

Regina held back the gasp that wanted to escape her lips, but that masking did nothing for her quickened heartbeat. Surely this Lady or Dame or whoever she was would tell her mother that she had snuck away from the ball. Instead of confirming her statement, Regina simply held her head high, channeling her mother's words of asserting her status, and sneered. "And you're not much of a dancer."

The blonde cocked an eyebrow, and her lip twitched in amusement. Slowly she crossed her arms over her chest and let her eyes rake up and down Regina's body as if deeming her worthy of being in her presence. Regina refrained from rolling her eyes, though she couldn't help but wonder just who this woman thought she was. She clearly knew that Regina came from a good family if she knew who her mother was, but this woman must not have had many lessons in etiquette or tact. Her beauty would only get her so far if that was her usual attitude.

The blonde tilted her head and chuckled, nodding her head in agreement. "I know," she admitted. "I haven't been attending my lessons, and now the whole court will bear witness to that."

"I doubt that. They'll be too enamoured by the presentation of the princess."

The blonde's pink lips twitched again in amusement before they split into a wide grin. She held the door open, silently inviting Regina into the room. Regina eyed the blonde warily, but the shuffling of footsteps down the hall made the decision for her as she hastily bristled into the room, encouraging the young woman to close it behind her.

"What do you know about dancing?" The blonde asked as she made her way to the table and bent down to the music box, winding the cork to its capacity again.

"Too much," Regina found herself muttering. She would have still had the marks on her wrist from where Cora had used magic to force her form had her mother not had used that same magic to heal them away.

When she looked up, Regina had to take a step back when she realized the blonde woman was right in front of her, so close that not even another body could pass through them. Had the blonde been a man, Regina would have been scolded for being seen in a precarious situation, but the heat rising to her cheeks and her quickened pulse still had the same reaction to the blonde regardless. Silently, the blonde held a hand up between them to begin the start of the waltz.

Regina watched for a moment, wondering what this woman's angle was, but she supposed that dancing with her was significantly better than dancing with the Duke. She was much prettier to look at too. Without another word, Regina pressed her palm against the blonde's as they walked in a slow circle for four beats, their gazes burning into one another, before Regina took up the lead, taking the young woman's waist and stepping forward into the dance.

They had danced for nearly an hour with the blonde pausing to wind up the music box thrice. More than once had she stepped on Regina's feet, but Regina simply held her tighter, staring intently into solid green eyes and telling her to trust her lead, to trust her. The blonde nodded, and by the second half of the hour, the two women had forgotten about the music box, allowing the silence permeating the room to serenade them as they glided as one around the length of the library, their eyes locked and their grasps firm.

A clock chimed in the distance, and the blonde pulled away hastily, apologizing profusely for her untimely departure before slipping out of the room, her dress held up in her hands to allow for a quick exit.

Regina remained standing in the library, barely processing what the last hour had been like. She hadn't gotten the young woman's name, but she was determined to find out. Perhaps she could persuade Mother visits with the blonde if her family proved favourable. The clock chimed again, prompting Regina to make her own departure back into the ballroom.

She slipped into the room easily enough, avoiding the Duke of Westley's lecherous gaze, as she hid herself amongst the crowd. Cora and Henry had stood proudly behind her, neither the wiser to their daughter's momentary escape when the herald tapped his staff twice. The room silenced as one, awaiting the entrance of the princess.

"For the presentation of the court and the surrounding noblemen, Queen Snow and King James present to you their daughter, her Royal Highness Princess Emma of the White Kingdom."

Gold doors at the top of the grand staircase opened to reveal Emma, the blonde in a gorgeous blue chiffon dress with her yellow hair up in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. The falling strands that framed her face were effectively pulled back into its place as the Royal smiled to the crowd and descended down the steps.

Regina's eyes widened as she spotted the princess, and like minutes earlier as they danced throughout the library, their gazes locked. That familiar twitch of pink lips danced on Emma's face as she smirked knowingly at Regina. Regina stepped back, nearly stepping on her mother's toes in her desire to hide her face in shame. No doubt the princess would fill Mother in on her rudeness, to the heir of a kingdom no less. This was not good indeed.

But as the battle waged on in Regina's brain, she continued to watch as Emma took to the middle of the ballroom, breaking her gaze from Regina momentarily when Prince Bae, her betrothed from Valoria, stepped up to her, bowing low and kissing her hand. He offered his palm as the beginning of the waltz began from the orchestra, but Emma smiled apologetically and walked past him. There were murmurings among the royals and noblemen as they eagerly watched Emma's movements.

It took Regina less than a second to realize that the princess was approaching her. She attempted to make herself small, but the crowd parted as Emma passed, and soon Princess Emma was standing right in front of Regina, so close another body could not pass through if it tried.

Regina was still so shocked at her discovery of the mystery blonde that it took a prod from Mother for her to bend down low in reverence of the princess. "Your Royal Higness."

"Lady Mills' daughter," Emma replied with a nod of her head.

"Regina," she corrected as she rose from her bow.

"Regina," Emma whispered breathily as if the name on her lips was a prayer said only in private. "Would you accompany me for my first dance?"

Acutely aware of the hundreds of eyes on her, Regina accepted with a nod and took Emma's hand, allowing the princess to lead her to middle of the ballroom. As soon as Emma had stepped into her space once more, their eyes locked, and the orchestra began again.

Emma held her palm up between them, a smile toying on her lips. Regina, her own small smile gracing her lips, mimicked the move, and as seamlessly as they had danced in the library, they glided across the ballroom moving as one.

"Emma," the blonde whispered as her lips brushed against Regina's ear. "My name is Emma."

"Emma," Regina repeated with a grin, allowing her fears and worries to wash away for the time being as she danced with the princess.