A/N: More flower info for you!

Purple roses apparently mean enchantment and enthrallment. Blue roses mean 'you are extraordinarily wonderful', while also being a symbol of caution and expressing a need to be discrete. Orange roses are given when you are totally besotted and completely bewitched by somebody and when you are honoured to be associated with someone. Three roses given together means 'I love you'.

x

The dinner, including the speeches, went by quickly. Liv almost dissolved into tears of laughter when Charming's father-of-the-bride speech descended into a mass of near-hysterical sobs as he was unable to contain his emotions any longer. A cheer went up from the guests as he found himself behind embraced and kissed by his wife, his daughter, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter, all of whom – apart from Liv who was giggling loudly – were struggling to contain their amusement. Charming swatted them away, thoroughly embarrassed by his emotional outburst.

Then it was time for the dancing. Liv wrapped an arm around Henry's shoulders as they watched their Mothers take to the dance floor for the first dance. The musicians played something slow and the guests applauded as Emma dipped Regina low, before pulling her close once more. The two women didn't even notice their audience, their gaze locked on each other.

Slowly other people began to move onto the dance floor; Snow and Charming, Abigail and Frederick, Ella and Thomas. Even Cora was dancing with the King of the Marshlands and Granny was being whisked around the floor by someone Liv vaguely recognised from the nearby town. The teenager wanted nothing more than to dance with Ruby, but she knew it wasn't worth the risk – or the arguments with her family. Instead she tugged Henry by his hand, warning him that it was his job to protect her from the vultures that would surely begin to swoop. He nodded solemnly, glaring at anyone who dared to get close to his sister.

After a couple of dances with Henry, though, she couldn't fend off the advancing Princes any longer. With a sigh she accepted the invitation to dance from none other than creepy Prince Andrew, pulling a face at her brother as she went. Excusing herself at the end of the dance and getting as far away from his wandering hands as possible, Liv found herself pulled into another dance and then another. Finally having had enough of her current partner's intense concentration on the dance steps and counting under his breath as he pushed her jerkily around the floor, Liv plucked himself from his grip and announced that she was tired and was going to get a drink. He bowed low and, by the time he straightened up, she had vanished into the crowd.

Breathing deeply Liv skirted the dancing couples, smiling at Emma dancing with her father and Regina dancing with Henry. Her eyes fell on Ruby and her heart clenched as she saw the expression on her girlfriend's face. Ruby was scanning the dancing couples with a dejected expression, her arms folded firmly across her chest. When a young man bowed low in front of her and extended a hand, clearly asking her to dance, she shook her head tightly and kept her eyes flickering over the dance floor. Making up her mind, Liv headed way towards her elder Grandmother who was leaning against the table where the wine was being kept.

"Nana… I need you to do something for me." Liv said quietly, sidling up to Cora and pushing her arm through her Grandmother's.

Cora raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Can you conjure a rose for me? Please… I just… Ruby looks so sad and I feel like I'm betraying her. I know I'm not supposed to but I just–" With a swirl of deep purple smoke, the older woman caused a trio of flower to appear in her palm. She smiled and held them out to her Granddaughter, who looked at them warily. "That's a strange combination of colours…"

"Indeed, my darling." Cora agreed. "The purple rose is a symbol of enchantment and enthrallment. The blue rose will tell her that you think she is extraordinarily wonderful, while also expressing a need to be discrete. And lastly the orange rose will remind her that you are totally besotted and completely bewitched by her and honoured to be her girlfriend. Give all three of them together and the message is 'I love you'. Appropriate, I think?"

"How do you know about what flowers mean?" Liv asked with a smile. "You're a proper romantic at heart, aren't you Cora Mills?"

"If you tell anyone–"

Liv smiled and kissed her Grandmother lightly on the cheek. "I know, I know, you'll make me sorry! But will I have to explain all that to Rubes?"

Shaking her head, Cora pushed her in Ruby's direction. "No, Ruby will know. In your world girls learn about texting and emails, here they learn the meaning behind flowers."

"Sounds… dull." Liv grinned and smiled, holding the three roses in one hand by her side. She started to turn away but then paused. "Why did you… you were the one who reminded me that this isn't about me; that it's about the security of the Kingdoms."

There was a pause. Taking her Granddaughter's face in her hands, Cora smiled gently. "We almost lost you, Olivia. Twice. I, for one, would rather have you safe and happy and worry about the consequences later. I know your Mothers and Snow and Charming agree. So does Granny, even if the belligerent old–"

"Thank you, Nana." The Princess smiled broadly and pulled the older woman into a tight hug, careful to avoid crushing the flowers. "Thank you. And… I love you, you know that right?"

Cora patted her cheek and nodded, unable to reply without losing her stoic mask and letting the tears escape from behind her eyelashes and into plain sight. With a smile, she watched the teenager make her way across the room and touch Ruby's waist, before nodding her head towards the edge of the room and indicating the older girl should follow her.

"Liv… you shouldn't be talking to me." Ruby reminded her warily, glancing around to make sure no one was watching them. "Your Moms–"

"Screw them, Rubes!" Liv replied vehemently. "I want what they have, OK? Everyone can see that they're made for each other. They're meant to be together and no one questions it. Why can't we have that? You know that I would do anything for you and I…" She frowned at the roses in her hand before thrusting them in her girlfriend's direction. "Here…"

Ruby stared at the flowers for a long couple of moments. Nervously, Liv began twisting her fingers together and biting her lip, wondering whether her girlfriend hated them. She was just about to snatch them back and make it into a joke, when the taller girl raised her eyes to meet Liv's.

"Do you know what these mean?" She asked softly.

"Cora explained when I asked her to conjure them. I know it's cheesy and whatever but… I do love you, Rubes. You know that, right?"

"I do, baby." Ruby agreed, barely resisting the urge to reach out to the teenager. "I love you too."

"How can you stand it?" Liv asked, frowning at Ruby as she leant casually against the pillar, pretending not to be talking to the taller woman at all. "I see you talking to someone and I want to storm over there and punch them. How can you be so calm?"

Ruby smiled and ducked out of sight into the shadows behind the pillar and pulled Liv with her. Pressed against the cold stone by the hot body of her girlfriend, the teenager sucked her breath in short gulps, knowing she had to remember where she was and act accordingly. Paying no attention to their surroundings, the older girl ran her hands up and down Liv's sides lightly.

"I can stand it because I know that however many men talk to you out there or dance with you, there are marks on your body that I put there and no one else can see them or mark you like that."

"That makes it sound like you're hitting me." Liv smirked.

Rolling her eyes, Ruby leant forwards and risked pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "You know what I mean."

"I did wonder why you're so bitey… I thought it was the wolf thing. But you're just trying to claim me as yours… you're so sweet."

Swatting the teenager's shoulder, Ruby pulled her into a tight hug. Liv didn't care that she'd be in trouble if anyone saw them. She buried her face into her girlfriend's neck and clung on tightly.

"I think…" As Ruby pulled away looking thoughtful, Liv watched her warily, wondering what she was going to say. The older girl's fingers trailed lightly over her stomach and up towards her chest. She stopped, tracing circles on her ribs just below her left breast. "My favourite place to bite is right here… you're so ticklish and you make this cute little moa–"

"Olivia!" Liv practically pushed Ruby off her, yanking up the bodice of her dress and straightening her skirts as Regina appeared around the pillar and looked suspiciously between the two girls. "What are you doing back here?"

"Just talking… it's not like we're even allowed to have a conversation in public…"

"You know that it's–"

"It's for Ruby's safety, I know." Liv pouted. "But I… it's not fair, Mom."

Regina sighed as she saw tears gathering in her daughter's eyes and knew that the enforced secrecy, on top of losing her magic and everything else, might just be enough to push her to breaking point. The Queen wasn't sure what to do. Her eyes travelled around the room and she watched Emma talking animatedly with her mother and Cinderella. A soft smile graced her face without her realising it as the blonde broke into a laugh. When Emma turned slightly and their eyes met her smile widened.

"OK, sweetheart."

Liv looked up at her quickly. "Huh?"

"You're right… it's not fair." Regina told her, pulling the girl into her arms and holding her tightly. "You and Ruby deserve to be acknowledged. There's nothing stronger than True Love; nothing purer." Releasing the girl from her embrace she pulled herself up to her full height and fixed them with a determined stare. "And if anyone has a problem with that they can come and speak to me about it."

"Mom are you…?"

With a nod, Regina held out a hand to each of the younger women. They exchanged a confused look, before reaching out and allowing her to pull them through the Ball Room towards the raised platform where the musicians were playing. Letting go of Ruby's hand and raising her arm in the air, Regina stopped the music and caused everyone in the room to turn and stare at them. Ruby's eyes widened and she glanced nervously towards Liv, wondering what was about to happen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Royal Highnesses…" Regina's sharp eyes roved over the sea of faces, instantly picking out her wife in the crowd. Emma hurriedly pushed her way to the front, closely followed by Snow, who was clearly wondering what was going on. "You all know my daughter, Princess Olivia. Many of you know Ruby, as well."

"Regina…" Ruby hissed out of the corner of her mouth, severely uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on her.

The Queen simply laid a calming hand on her arm. "Several months ago Henry and Liv managed to find themselves on the end of the Dark One's anger. If it hadn't been for the strength of the True Love between Liv and Ruby almost my entire family would have been wiped out." A collective gasp ran around the room and the two young women suddenly found their feet incredibly interesting. Regina's gaze turned challenging. "I have learnt that there is nothing more precious than True Love and I will do anything to ensure the happiness of those I care about. So if anyone has any complaints about my daughter's relationship then they can address them directly to me."

"Or me!" The guests parted as Charming made his way quickly through them and came to a halt in front of the three women on the raised platform, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

Wordlessly Emma, Snow, Henry, Cora and Granny all positioned themselves alongside Charming. Liv barely had time to consider how threatening her family could be when they were protecting someone, before Regina spoke again.

"I'm assuming from the silence that no one has anything to say?" When, again, there was no answer she smiled. "In that case…"

Another wave of her hand caused the musicians to begin playing once more. Slowly the guests began to turn away, gossiping about the revelation as they returned to their previous pursuits. There was an almost constant prickling on Liv's skin that alerted her to the fact that multiple pairs of eyes were watching her carefully, but she did her best to ignore them. Instead she threw her arms around Regina's neck and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Mom. Thank you!"

"Regina, I–"

The older woman smiled and placed a hand on each of the girls' cheeks. "I'll ensure your safety, both of you, whatever happens."

"I know you will." Liv assured her, leaning into the hand cupping her face. "Mom, I…"

"Hey, don't." Regina turned fully to face her, able to read the girl's face and see what she was thinking. "You don't have to thank me for anything, sweetheart." She glanced at Emma. "I can never thank you enough."

"You and Ma would have figured it out on your own. You practically did. Henry and I just… sped things up a bit." She smiled as Ruby left the platform and went to Granny and Snow. Emma took her place, rubbing Liv's upper arm gently. "I know it's too late for you to raise me, but you two can have another baby; you can do the whole thing properly… together."

"She's right Mom… Ma." Henry agreed, appearing beside them and pushing himself into the embrace. "I'd like a little sister."

"Hey!"

"I said little sister." The boy said, rolling his eyes at Liv. "You're my big sister."

"Technically I'm just a baby…"

"But actually you're nineteen."

"Enough, children." Emma laughed, ruffling Henry's hair. "So you both want a little brother or sister?"

"Yes!" Liv agreed, as Henry scrunched up his nose.

"Sister."

Rounding on him, the girl narrowed her eyes. "You want it to be a girl so you're still their special little boy."

"So what if I do?" Henry replied defensively. "You probably want it to be a boy for the same reason."

"Nope. I'm not bothered. Like you said, I'm the oldest so I'm special whatever it is."

"Hang on…" He frowned at her as she grinned and jumped from the platform, heading over to where the rest of the family were gathered together.

Henry followed, still complaining and trying to justify why Emma and Regina having another daughter would be the best option. His sister simply laughed and ruffled his hair, before wrapping an arm around Ruby's waist and nuzzling her face into the juncture between the taller girl's neck and shoulder.

On the platform, the newlyweds watched their family interacting with affection. Emma laced her fingers through Regina's, tugging her closer until she could wrap her arms around her waist and pull her flush with her body.

"Wanna get out of here and see if we can make our kids' wishes come true?" She asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Regina chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her wife's lips. "Oh, darling, you have no idea."