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The perfect life.
It had been out of her grasp for so long, for what felt like an eternity but really was only from the moment she had been born. Her mother would have ensured no matter what her life was, it would benefit Cora Mills more than it would ever benefit her. And after suffering loss after loss and betrayal after betrayal, she’d turned to ice with no intention to ever thaw. Ice Queens had cold hearts, a frosty demeanor and ice running through their veins, but they would live.
They would survive.
And she had decided way back then so would she.
It lead to the Dark Curse, and for the longest time, she had satisfaction. All of them, all of the townsfolk in Storybrooke, had no idea of the lives they had had that she had taken away from them. She held the power: power over their memories, power over their lives, power over their futures. She relished in it.
But she was still missing something.
She thought Henry might fill that hole. She loved him, she did. Henry was a bright spot in her life, when she felt the loneliness of being Mayor Regina Mills. Graham didn’t fill it up either; that was purely physical for the most part, meant to fill a need she couldn’t really verbalize. She was friendly to the residents on the surface, but beneath? It was all a façade. She was the Evil Queen, and her heart was frozen, and she would never ever love again.
Until her.
Ironically, Emma Swan, the Savior and the Greatest Light, the firstborn of Snow White and Prince Charming, and generally the most contrary woman she had ever met, should have hated her at first sight and that would have been that. But somehow, a miracle happened. Emma chipped away at the ice, slowly and surely, and she found herself melting the more that she interacted with the woman. She had thought it was one-sided, that she would never be lucky enough to get the happiness she had always craved, but Emma surprised her. Emma always surprised her, and that was one of the things she loved about her. She may still think less of...well, everyone else, but Emma? She held that woman in the highest regard.
And now, many happy and perfect years later, the thousand tiny imperfections that had littered their path had led to this moment: a vow renewal ten years after their initial wedding, which had been a lavish and extravagant celebration fit for the queen and princess who were being wed. This affair was much more simple, in the backyard of Mill’s House, beneath the shade of the apple tree Regina had restored after Emma had cut it down. She was older now, warmer than she had ever been, her heart fully melted after all these years. Any lingering ice in her heart had really disappeared under Emma’s love before the wedding, and when she had given her personalized vows at the time she had meant every word.
Today, as she and Emma grasped their hands together, looking into each other's eyes, warm smiles on their faces and tears glistening in Emma’s eyes, she ran her finger over Emma’s engagement and wedding rings and spoke vows that weren’t as personalized this time but still heartfelt and special to them, especially since they were adding a new wedding band to their fingers for the renewal. “With an open heart, a loving spirit, and a sense of pure amazement, I take you as my partner. I vow to risk everything for you—to give over my life for you—to be the woman you love. My love, my partner, my very own Princess, you are the best parts of me, and I give you everything I have and everything I am. I will be your loyal knight and a partner who loves every part of you and supports your every dream. As your wife, I promise you to act as your partner and never be prideful or possessive.” She paused. “At least any more than I usually am.”
Laughter rippled among those who were gathered for the event, the few that she had also allowed to worm their way into her life in similar and no less important ways than Emma had. She pulled out the small velvet box with the ring she was going to slip on Emma’s finger, a simple gold band that almost matched the one Emma was going to give her. The ring Emma was going to get was engraved with her own handwriting saying “I love you” on it and surrounded by diamond chips along the band. The ring Emma was giving her was engraved with the same message in Emma’s handwriting. “There are no words or feelings enough to express how I feel now,” she said, continuing. “The prospect of you being my companion is overwhelming; I am genuinely the luckiest person alive. Today, I reaffirm you as my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life for as long as we both shall live. In the fairytale of our lives, I say to you, ‵and we lived happily ever after...′”
She took the ring out of its box and slipped it onto Emma’s ring finger, pressing it flush against the braided gold band she had given her wife ten years prior. “I hope you will receive this ring and my true love’s kiss as a token of my pure and unending love for you, and I promise to forevermore be your loving and devoted partner.” When she looked up happy tears were slipping down Emma’s face, and she felt tears threaten her own eyes, but as Emma mouthed “I love you” at her and squeezed her hand, she knew the road they had set down upon together would go on forever after, and that was the most perfect life she could have hoped for.