Thank you for all your hard work preparing and coordinating this Secret Swanta project. You are lovely and I didn’t want you to be left without a gift so here goes...
Happy Christmas!
~ Slacky
All the Single Queens
We’ll say this follows canon until the end of S5a except for two things:
- Cruella didn’t die
- the mid-season 5 finale didn’t happen (I haven’t even watched it –no time, no interest, really can’t be arsed to at this point) so let’s imagine Emma actually respected Hook’s wishes and didn’t turn him into a Dark One and he’s peacefully resting forever in a field of roses in Camelot
“Really, Miss Swan?”
Uh-oh. Miss Swan again. Emma knows Miss Swan is not good. Even though she’s imagined quite many times Regina calling her that in certain… Well, let’s call it ‘not-safe-for-work mental scenarios’. Even though those scenarios come to her mind quite frequently while she is, actually, at work. Anyway. Even though, Emma knows Miss Swan means Regina is at best exasperated and at worst about to go full-on Evil Queen on her. Which is nine tenths scary and one tenth hot as hell. But anyway!
Regina is looking down, unamused, one eyebrow cocked up and lips slightly pursed when she stops moving them to assess the woman in front of her. Down on one knee. Holding a… Regina shakes her head.
“Whatever made you think that it’d be a good idea to propose to me with an onion ring?”
~ one hour ago ~
“Welcome once again to our weekly meeting of ‘Villains Anonymous’, everyone!” Archie greets cheerfully, as he’s been doing for the past couple of months since this project started. This stupid project, as seems to be the consesus inferred by the massive eyeroll he receives. The same one he’s been receiving for the past couple of months. Tends to happen, when all your attendees are unwilling participants. The only saving grace are the bags of Granny’s takeout that welcome the reforming villains to the meetings.
“So, who wants to go first today? Arthur? Maleficent? Mr. Gold…?”
“Wait Archie, we can’t start yet,” Emma interrupts. “Regina hasn’t arrived yet.”
It’s not like Regina to be late, she knows, so she’s about to ask the psychologist for her phone back to check on her (Archie has them all surrender their cellphones on arrival, mainly due to Cruella’s growing addiction to Angry Birds and the negative effect that her constant losing has in her mood) (Emma thinks she would probably be better at it if she took off her gloves to play with a touch screen phone) when Zelena scoffs. “My darling sister has a doctor’s note to miss today’s meeting,” she glowers at Dr. Hopper as she snatches the last bag of onion rings from the table. “Apparently gallivanting about with one’s soulmate is a valid reason for truancy.”
“What?” Emma doesn’t understand. She thought Regina and Hood had ended things after Camelot. She was there for the shots with Regina. And for the killer hangover the day after.
“Regina felt it was important for her to talk things out with Mr. Hood and try to mend fences, as he has been one of the reasons she’s been tempted to fall back to less virtuous ways in the recent past,” Archie supplies helpfully.
“But…” Emma pouts. An honest-to-god pout that has all her companions rolling their eyes because, really?
“Oh for Christ’s sake Swan!” Cruella sneers. “As someone who knows her pets let me tell you, darling. The puppy dog look is not flattering on you.”
“Indeed,” Zelena agrees, munching on a ring. “I am sick of you two making eyes at each other. You’ve had a million chances to make your move, now stop moping and suck it up.” Gleefully, she adds, “If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it.”
And Emma snaps. She gets up, grabs her jacket and leaves the meeting. Not before snatching the bag of onion rings from an unsuspecting Zelena. “Oi! I was going to eat those!”
~ present ~
“You didn’t come to the meeting.”
Regina is blindsided by the apparent non-sequitur.
“What?”
“You didn’t come to the meeting and I was worried. And then Zelena said that you were with Robin and that I had missed my chance and I realized she was right so I just had to act before it was too late.”
“Too late…”
“I will get you a proper ring. A beautiful engagement ring, fit for a queen. And a wedding ring also. But for now, Regina, please. Stop thinking about what it is and think about what it means.”
“I don’t—”
“I love you. Don’t go back to Robin. Please. Be with me, date me, and eventually marry me. What we have is good, don’t you think? We’re practically married anyway.”
“Emma—“
“We already have the kid, and we spend most of our time together. I have dinner at your house five times a week. We work great together and make amazing magic and—“
“Emma! Shut up!”
The Savior turned Dark One turned Savior again winces. She’s rambling and she knows Regina hates it when she rambles. She chances a glance at the former queen and what she finds is the woman looking at her with a sense of wonder.
“I thought you were mourning Hook all this time, yet you were content with the idea of ‘almost us’?”
At a loss of what The Correct Answer may be, Emma just shrugs.
“You’re an idiot,” Regina says, but she takes the ring from Emma’s hand and takes a bite with a fond smile.
“Your idiot?” Emma asks hopefully, getting up slowly.
Regina shakes her head looking heavenwards, and when she finishes chewing she pulls Emma to her by the lapels of her jacket and kisses her.
~ 2 minutes later ~
“I can’t believe our first kiss tasted like onion.”
“Come on, Mom!” Henry beckoned excitedly, throwing open the passenger door of the sleek Mercedes roadster.
Regina remained in her car for a moment. She briefly glanced upwards at the rear-view mirror, noting the obnoxiously yellow Bug parked in the distance. Emma had called early this morning. So early, in fact, that Regina had assumed there was some town emergency. She couldn’t imagine another reason for the blonde to rise before eight, especially on a Saturday.
Emma had instructed she bring Henry to the stables, with a breezy air of confidence, as if she had asked – and Regina had complied with – dozens of spontaneous requests in the past. “Wear something you can get dirty in,” she had added lowly before curtly hanging up.
Regina observed her reflection. She ran a quick hand through her hair and stepped outside to join her son. She followed Henry towards the stables, her heels sinking into the dew drenched grass. She spied several buckets of small, brightly coloured balls scattered, somewhat randomly, around the perimeter of the stable. At the entrance of the large wooden doors stood the Charming clan, Granny and Ruby.
Emma thought she would never be so lucky as to witness the day Regina ditched her blazer for casual clothes. In her plain white t-shirt and dark wash denim jeans, Regina still managed to look more put together than all of them combined. She was also, Emma observed, not without her signature black stilettos.
“Really, Miss Swan.” Regina said incredulously. “In what realm did you think I would ever willingly participate in paint balloon fight?”
“It’s paintball,” Emma correct, “And that’s why I didn’t ask. I knew you’d say no.”
“Please, Mom,” Henry begged, “We won’t have even numbers otherwise”
“I’ll watch Neal,” Regina said.
“Come on, Regina. It’ll be fun,” David chimed in.
Snow passed Neal over to Granny. “Yes, I’ll be on your team.”
Regina laughed. “Not if you want me to play. If anyone’s getting taken down, it’s going to be you by me.”
Catching her mother’s eye, Emma smirked.
Ruby clapped her hands together. “Ok then, so it’ll be Regina, David and Henry against Snow, Emma and me.”
Henry passed around small bags of paintballs. “And no magic,” he added, looking between his mothers.
Emma nodded, arming herself with an arsenal of yellow filled paint balls. “No magic.”
Having abandoned her heels long ago, Regina crouched low behind a stack of golden hay, patiently waiting for her last target to show herself.
Charming had been the first to be eliminated; his lumbering footsteps and laborious breathing had eventually given away his position to Ruby, who had bombarded him, in an extraordinary display of athleticism, with several crimson paintballs. Snow, as she had anticipated, had proven to be a formidable opponent. Ultimately, it had been Henry that had brought her down while feigning injury – a move, Regina had to admit, she was both shocked and impressed by.
Two hours, three rounds and a multi-coloured paint path of destruction later, only two people remained. The others, having grown tired of waiting to see whose competitiveness would prevail, had retired to Granny’s diner for lunch. Regina moved slowly past the paint splattered stalls, peering into each one to check for any signs of Emma’s blond mane.
Regina heard a rustle of straw in the next stall rounded the corner swiftly, her hand, expertly closed around her last paintball. Emma, who had clearly shared her strategy for approach, came to an abrupt halt, managing to avoid a collision.
Frozen, Emma held her paintball above her head. “Drop it.”
“You drop it,” Regina replied, edging closer.
Regina knew it was just a silly game. Even so, she still need to win. The fierce emerald eyes, only inches away, had no intention of backing down. And so Regina did the only thing she could think of – she leant forward and brought her lips to Emma’s.
The bell affixed to the diner door rang softly as Regina and Emma strode inside. Snow could see a broad streak of purple paint smeared down the length of Emma’s singlet.
“Well, who won?” Henry asked his parents as they reached their table.
Emma flicked her hair to one side, revealing a purple line which, from what Snow could ascertain from her seated position, seemed to encircle her neck.
“I did, of course,” Regina replied matter-of-factly.
“Only because you cheated,” Emma said loudly.
“I did no such thing!” Regina scoffed, sliding onto the bench next to Henry. “The rules were no magic - I never used any.”
“What happened then?” David asked, cradling a sleeping Neal in his arms.
Emma huffed and Snow observed her cheeks flush with colour as she dropped down dramatically onto the seat beside theirs. “I don’t know, nothing.”
The pair ate and Snow continued to watch them, curiously. Every so often, they would look up, at each other, and then promptly look away. After a moment’s deliberation, she dismissed their behaviour as unusual and returned her attention to stirring the her coffee, busying herself with mixing until she could no longer she the white granules of sugar in the frothy foam.
“I’m stuffed!” Emma exclaimed, laying a paint smeared hand over her stomach, streaks of dried, bright yellow paint adorning the back of her hand.
“What about dessert?” Henry said, his big, brown eyes looked pleadingly towards Regina.
“Let’s have it at home,” Regina suggested as she stood from the bench. “Emma, would like to join us?”
Emma stared blankly at the former Evil Queen. “What?”
“Unless you don’t have room for dessert.” Regina grinned, almost wickedly.
Snow took a long sip of her coffee and glanced beside her, at her daughter, who had now turned as red as Ruby’s apron.
Emma touched the back of her neck, scratching nervously before she stood to follow. “There’s always room for dessert.”
And in that precise moment, as Regina turned towards the door, David started coughing, violently.
“David!” Snow exclaimed, clapping him on the back. But he only continued to cough, pointing towards the exit.
Snow’s eyes grew wide as she followed his finger to Regina’s departing figure, where two yellow handprints were impressed upon the backside dark blue denim jeans.
The snowflakes were falling slowly, Storybrooke’s Christmas Eve without snow, it simply couldn’t be. The cold and gentle breeze was carrying the white spectacle that a certain blonde was admiring behind the window in the safety of the living room. When she returned her eyes to the crowd she couldn’t help but smile at the picture in front of her.
Ruby and Henry were playing some sort of card games, Snow and Charming, being the annoying idiots in love they’re always going to be, were humming Christmas songs to little Neal and Granny and Regina were drinking coffee on a little table, away from the two idiots, “I’m not going to bear the presence of your parents alone, Emma”, the Sheriff remembered Regina saying and a little chuckle betrayed her.
She never thought about having a night like this, she never thought she will find her parents to begin with, but still there they were and not only them, her son too and that wasn’t everything, her gorgeous girlfriend among them. Suddenly a growing warmth spread through Emma’s chest and it was a feeling so strong that, for a moment, she thought she won’t be able to handle it. She didn’t notice when Regina got up and went straight to her.
“Emma”, her tone was tender and loving and mirrored by the touch of her hands, claiming the blonde’s personal space and drowning her in a tight embrace. “Are you ok?” Emma heard at the same time she noticed a few tears were starting to fall from her emerald eyes. She didn’t answer anything, instead she took her girlfriend’s hand and led her to the backyard. That light, gentle touch was all Regina needed to follow her.
When they were out there, the Christmas tree that the Mayor decided to decorate was glowing with tiny red-green lights and on the top, there was a radiant golden star. Regina never let go of Emma’s hand and she placed herself in front of the blonde. Emma seemed to be somewhere in between this world and her own, she knew her so well. She followed those emerald eyes, sometimes blue, sometimes green, ocassionally both at the same time, with Emma Swan’s eyes you could never know, but for the Mayor one thing was certain, the blonde had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.
“I never thought…” Emma began and Regina leaned in to join their foreheads together. “I didn’t… I didn’t even think I was going to be 28 years old. When I was a teenager I didn’t believe that I will be alive on my 18th birthday, let alone that I’ll have a child and fulfill the dream of every foster kid out there, of meeting it’s parents and…” she stopped, because she got teary again, Damn it Swan, Emma cursed herself for being such a bundle of nerves, then again it was a Christmas Eve after all so it was allowed, even for the coldest hearts.
“And now here they are, our son…” And Regina smiled bright with those last words “You…” she couldn’t fight it anymore and she went in for a kiss. It was a soft caress at first, but slowly transformed into a deep passionate endeavour for their love to materialize, to come alive. Regina felt her whole body crumble, Emma’s kisses were like that, sweet, but strong enough to make her lose her mind if the blonde ever wanted.
When they broke the kiss, their joined hands refused to let go. The snow kept falling with such grace that it seemed like it was following the exact rhythm of their hearts. Such a peaceful, calming moment in Emma’s life. “You, are the most amazing and unexpecting surprise I’ve ever had, Emma” and the blonde’s smile turned into a huge grin. Suddenly all that pressure in her chest faded away.
“Regina, I wish I could tell you that I’ve dreamt about this moment my whole life but I’m afraid I can’t. And I can’t because this....us, it’s beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”, she took the brunette’s face in her hands and caressed her cheeks “It’s the first time I’m feeling truly happy, for once in my life and maybe...maybe I’m being too selfish, but I can’t imagine my life without you..” she kissed the tip of Regina’s nose before leaning in to join their foreheads together again.
And it was Regina this time, the one who couldn’t help herself and went in for those red lips, capturing them, drinking their nectar and drowning herself in that sweet surrender. Nothing ever felt that good for either of them. The fusion of their souls through that kiss could show how much they belong together, despite everything and against all odds and fairy dusts.
“I love you, Emma” And the intoxicating scent of Regina’s perfume mixed with those words created an overwhelming and erratic heart beat in blonde’s chest. Emma never felt this way before, this complicity and knowledge that they can trust each other completely “and I understand very well how you’re feeling, because we aren’t much different, you and I...”
The snow kept falling but it’s beauty couldn’t match the one of two hearts melting until they created a whole new one. One with such strength, power and love.
“I have everything I could ever desire and more, but still I have something else to ask you…” a shadow of fear appeared behind Sheriff’s words. Regina waited, but when she saw Emma going down on her knee while keeping her left hand in her pocket she knew. “Emma, wait. Please, stand up, please...” and the sheriff obeyed.
“Regina, I don’t have anything else except myself to give you, and I’m wholely yours if you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?” Regina smiled, but it wasn’t like any other smile, this was different, it was her heart talking.
AN: Hey there! So for this story you have to ignore everything related to Hood and everything that went through after Mary Margaret and Emma returned from the Enchanted Forest.
Emma saw Regina siting in one of the booths at Granny’s talking with Henry and she wondered how could a woman full of love could ever become the Evil Queen that had cursed all these people for 28 years.
She took a sip of her chocolate, left some bills on the table and mad her way our of Granny’s. She had just came to drop Henry with Regina since it was her week with him so she had already said her goodbyes and walked to the loft.
It was quite a chilly day and she only had her red leather jacket on her but that didn’t make her stop thinking about Regina.
Such a complicated, stubborn, difficult and beautiful woman. Emma stopped dead on her tracks as she enlisted that last characteristic, where had that came from? Yeah, she couldn’t ignore that Regina was certainly an attractive woman but the fact that she had seemed appropriate to see her as beautiful meant that there were other feelings involved and that was a can of worms Emma was not ready and not willing to open.
She had never doubted that Regina loved her son but after breaking the curse, learning that her parents were freaking Snow White and Prince Charming and that everyone in that town was a character from some fairytale she had seen or read as a kid, the blonde no longer knew what was real and what was not, despite priding herself of knowing when someone was lying.
Emma finally reached the loft and thanked the gods above that David was at the Sheriff’s station and that Mary Margaret had some things to do at the school and she had the place for herself. The thoughts of Regina was somehow make her really tired and was ready to lay down on her bed.
Just as she opened the door to her bedroom she noticed that Henry’s book was on top of her bed. Hadn’t he taken the book everywhere he went? Even after the curse was broken and was witness to how Regina had saved her and Mary Margaret after absorbing a death curse at the well and yet, he was still wary of her and still believed that she was the Evil Queen.
Emma just wanted to learn how she had become the Evil Queen because the book didn’t offer her anything she didn’t already know and when she met Cora in the Enchanted Forest, she was more preoccupied on getting to Storybrooke alive than have a nice over-tea chatter with Regina’s mother.
Just as she was going to pick up the book, at the slightest touch she felt as if she was being swallowed by the book and before she could even begin to process what was happening everything went black.
Emma groaned when she was starting to wake up after whatever had happened. Her head was pounding and she was almost sure that what was beneath her wasn’t the floor of her room. It felt like dirt or grass or maybe a combination of the both of them.
She opened her eyes after much effort and all she saw was a blue sky. Since when her bedroom had no ceiling?
After some moments adjusting to the light she was able to recognize her surrounding. Sort of. Because all she saw was a deep forest, blue sky and more forest.
“Where am I?” Emma muttered to herself. The only things she remembered was being in her bedroom, grabbing Henry’s book and then nothing. She was pretty sure she hadn’t walked straight to the woods in under a minute.
She got up and tried to wipe the dirt that now covered her jeans as much as she could. Releasing a breath, she started to ponder which way to take because there were only two options: straight through the woods and hoping she’d get to Main Street or through the path she could see just a few feet in front of her.
Deciding that getting lost in the woods was certainly not a good idea, the path looked more promising and at least she knew it would lead them to somewhere, hopefully Main Street or any other street in Storybrooke would be fine, really.
Emma walked to the path and started following it; she really didn’t have any idea where she was but she was starting to realize that these were not the same woods as the ones in Storybrooke, she had seen some of these once in her life and she didn’t like what her mind was giving her for an answer.
Just then, a carriage passed through her and the only things she could do was stare at it as she disappeared into the distance, eyes and mouth wide open. No no no no no. Emma thought for herself as the answer to her previous question was being answered in front of her eyes.
She was, once again, in the Enchanted Forest and the carriage that just flew by was no other than the one belonging to the Royal Family.
Oh no. That posed another problem; because when she and Mary Margaret had been sucked in by the portal opened in Jefferson’s hat and had them landed in the Enchanted Forest everything was in ruins, the castle, the villages. You couldn’t expect nothing more after a Dark Curse had swiped through it. And she was pretty certain she hadn’t seen a Royal carriage on her first, and what she had hoped, last trip to the Enchanted Forest.
Against her better judgment and because in that moment it seemed like the best idea, she followed the carriage. Emma knew that wherever the carriage was heading, she would find someone to help her out. Or at least she hoped someone would.
After what felt like hours, they finally arrived somewhere. It’s just that that somewhere wasn’t what Emma was expecting.
“Oh no. No no no no no.” Emma groaned for the third time since she had woken up.
Because that somewhere was the Castle. It’s not as if she could just go inside the castle and ask for directions to Storybrooke; besides she still had to figure out exactly where she was because she may be in the Enchanted Forest but she may not be in the same Enchanted Forest as she was with Mary Margaret.
She saw what she assumed was a peasant getting out of the castle with a cart that she supposes was carrying whatever he had sold to the Castle. This might be her shot at knowing where the hell she was.
“Excuse me? Can you tell me where am I?” Emma asked.
“At the Castle.” The peasant said, looking at her as if she had grown two heads.
“Oh yes, I know. But you see, I’m a merchant and my ships just docked here but I was wondering if you could tell me in which realm am I.” Emma responded, trying to use her bail bondsperson skills at getting answers.
“In the realm of the King Leopold and Queen Regina of course.” The peasant answered and moved along.
No no no no no. Emma thought for herself, that was the fourth time in a single day, a total new record for her.
Now, she was in bigger problems. Not only had she crossed realms landing in the Enchanted Forest but she had actually traveled back in time. When Regina was Queen no less. But wait, the peasant had also mentioned the name of the King and if she remembered correctly what Henry’s book said, Regina had murdered the King so if the King was still alive it meant that Regina wasn’t yet the Evil Queen.
Right now, her problem was how to make Regina help her get back to Storybrooke without revealing anything from the future and not messing up. Emma felt like Marty McFly with all the Butterfly effect that this could cause.
She rubbed a hand over her face while she pondered what to do next. She could actually go to Rumplestiltskin but knowing that she would have to make a deal with him she decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Or she could infiltrate the castle, somehow, and make Regina help her. Yep, that was a better idea than going to Rumplestiltskin.
Emma supposed that there should be an entrance for the not so royal that worked in the castle and usually that part of the castle was on the back, so she started walking towards the back part of the castle and see if there was a way to get in.
When she arrived at the back yard she saw all these people moving around, probably getting the castle stocked, so it would suffice for both the royalty and the servitude.
She approached the lady but the lady won her to ask the first question.
“And who are you?” The lady asked.
“I… umm… I…” Emma stuttered. Admittedly, she hadn’t thought the whole plan through.
“Are you here to replace the Queen’s maid?” The lady asked and saved her from getting her ass kicked out.
“Yes, yes I am.” Emma reassured, as confidently as she could because the last things she wanted was to get straight on with Regina, even if the other woman didn’t know her at the time.
“Good.” The lady said an she turned around to walk back into the castle. Sawing that Emma hadn’t moved from her place she topped and turned her head. “Well, what are you waiting?” The lady called her and turned once again and started walking while Emma tried to keep up her pace.
“The kitchens are on the main floor while the Queen’s chambers are on the second floor, on the same level as the Princess’. Your-“
“Wait, the Queen does not sleep with the King?” Emma interrupted the lady. Wasn’t a Queen supposed to be her husband?
“Oh dear Lord, you don’t know anything about living in a castle or royalty do you?”
Emma just shrugged. The upside of having traveled back in time was that at least she would be able to know Regina before becoming the Evil Queen, not that she hoped that the Mayor’s personality would change drastically.
“As I was saying, your job is to do anything the Queen wants you to do, you are also to serve her breakfast, help her getting dressed and anything that comes to the Queen’s mind. Being the Queen’s maid also offer some privileged as you’re to sleep in a separate room from the servants’ barracks but close enough to the chambers in case the Queen needs you.” The lady explained to Emma. “What was your name girl?”
“Umm… Emma. Emma Swan.” The blonde winced and mentally kicked herself for giving her real name, not that any of these would actually know her. At least, not yet.
The lady showed her to her room, which was in a little corridor off to the side of the main corridor. Close enough to the Queen’s chamber but not at first sight as the rest of the royal chambers. She changed into her uniform and the lady, that by now Emma knew her name was Prudence eyed her cautiously and gave a quick glance at the blonde’s clothes, since Emma was still in her jeans and red leather jacket.
Finally, Emma stepped out of the room and looks down to her clothes, god she hated dresses. She hoped that she wouldn’t be too long in the Enchanted Forest but with magic you never know and since she didn’t exactly know what happened this was just a tad more complicated than usual.
“Know the Queen should be dressing, so you’ll go there and help her if she needs to and then you’ll ask if she wants breakfast; if she doesn’t you can return to your bedroom and wait until she rings the bell. That way you’ll know when to go to her chambers. You’ll get used to this life, but see that it doesn’t take you too long. Go on, a Queens doesn’t want to be kept waiting.” Prudence ushered her away and towards Regina’s chambers.
Wish me luck. Emma thought for herself. She arrived in front of the Queen’s chambers and saw a guard standing over there.
“Hi, I’m the new maid to the Queen. So I just knock and wait?” Emma asked.
The guard chuckled. “Yes, you knock and just wait. I’m Graham by the way, the Queen’s personal guard. I guess I’ll see you a lot around here.”
Emma gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, I guess we’ll do.” She went to the door and knocked and waited.
“Come in.” She heard a muffled voice coming from the inside.
“Your Majesty, I am your new maid. I came here to see if you needed me with anything.” Emma said as she entered the bedroom, but didn’t see anyone. At least, she had remembered the proper way to address a Queen.
Emma heard a sniffle coming from the other side of the bedroom, probably the bathroom. She heard some ruffling and then the Queen stepped out with just a towel to cover her naked body.
Emma gulped, because she knew that Regina had always had a very attractive body but she didn’t expect to see her this exposed. She looked at the Queen’s eyes and expected to see the same fiery eyes as she had when Regina was a mayor but instead she only saw sadness and a touch of vulnerability. This wasn’t the Regina she knew, and she had already made her mind about it, but she hadn’t thought that maybe Regina had not always been the powerful mayor or the Evil Queen, maybe, just maybe, she was just a little innocent girl.
Besides, how old was she? Regina couldn’t be too older than Mary Margaret, maybe five or six years. So this made Regina, right now, 20 years or something years old. That made her sick to her stomach, because the King would be at least twice her age. Emma was starting to understand a little better the complicated woman that was in Storybrooke.
“Would you help me with the dress?” The Queen asked.
“Of course your Majesty.” Emma responded and walked towards what she supposed was the closet, opened it and stared and the quantity of the dresses hanging in there. There were also corsets, shoes and every other garment that a queen might need.
“They light blue one will do.” The Queen said from the bedroom and Emma took the blue dress and moves to help the Queen. She stood behind the Queen and almost gasp when the Queen let the towel fall from where she was holding it up.
Emma didn’t gasp from the beauty the body of Regina was but from the faded bruises she saw at her sides; she didn’t want to imagine what the front looked like. She hoped Regina hadn’t noticed the small breath she took.
Regina chuckled. “You’ll have to get used to see them if you’re going to be my maid.” The Queen said and looked at her foot, as if she was ashamed of what Emma was seeing.
“May I ask you got them your Majesty?” Emma asked cautiously, she didn’t know what could trigger Regina’s anger but something told her that this version of Regina wasn’t angered so easily.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Was the only thing the Queen said in a low voice. Emma gulped and hoped that her worst fear wouldn’t be true. She had had her fair share of abusive forest parents during her years in the system and she could easily see the marks that this abuse left behind.
Emma helped the Queen getting dressed. “Anything else you want me to help you with? Your Majesty” Emma asked her.
The Queen turned around. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Emma, Your Majesty.” Emma answered her.
“Emma.” The Queen muttered and gave her a small smile, one that Emma thought was the first genuine smile the Queen had given in a long time. “So where are you from?”
Shit, Emma hadn’t thought of that. “I… umm… I’m from the village near by.” Emma lied smoothly.
“I see, and what prompted you to be the maid of the Queen?” Regina asked.
“I, well I was hoping I could get a better job here. Besides, here I have food and a roof over by head.” Emma told her.
The Queen only hummed in acknowledgement. By now it had darkened and the Queen most certainly would go down to the dining room and then come back to sleep. “If you want, you can go now and come back later after dinner. Make sure you also eat, there’s no point of having you starved is there?” The Queen said and gave a small chuckle. It amazed Regina how Emma had the ability to put her at ease.
Emma gave her a small smile in return. “Of course Your Majesty.”
“Regina, call me Regina” The Queen told her and walked to exit her chambers.
After she got out, Emma made her way towards her room but made a quick stop with Graham, that didn’t move from his post. “Graham, why aren’t you with her?” Emma questioned.
“The King only allowed her to have me while she was in her chambers. The Queen even had to beg him, after an… incident that occurred a few months ago.” Graham explained.
“Incident? What kind of incident?” Emma looked at him, dreading the answer that might come from his mouth.
Graham sighed. “You saw those bruises didn’t you?” Emma only bowed her head. “Have you guessed who?” Emma only nodded. “The King. But why would he?”
Graham scoffed. “Because the Queen doesn’t want to be with him. I don’t know the whole story, but the Queen became Queen because Snow White wanted a mother. Her mother died a year ago, the Queen saved Snow White from a frantic horse and the King proposed to her. You simply don’t say no to a King, even if the people think he’s the best man of Earth.”
“Wait, so how old is the Queen?” Emma asked perplexed.
“Snow White is 11 years old, that would make the Queen 19.” Graham answered her.
“What?? The Queen is married to a man thrice her age?”
Graham shrugged. “Welcome to the world of Royalty, Emma.”
Now Emma was starting to understand why Regina went all Evil Queen; hell, she would have too if she had to live with a man thrice her age as a husband. She made a vow right there that she would befriend the Queen, living in a Castle can be lonely especially if your role was to replace the former dead Queen.
Over the next few months, the Queen and Emma became very good friends, telling each their life experiences (Emma had to adjust them to fit the Enchanted Forest world) and Regina had told her how she had become Queen; Graham became her other friend in the Castle, and was glad that at least one person was having the Queen’s back.
But she also started to realize that she was developing feelings for Regina. God, this had become just a bit more complicated than she thought. And it was the night that Regina shared her most painful memories with Emma that started everything.
“Regina, can I ask you something?” Emma said to the Queen, knowing that all the efforts she had done to make the Queen open up for her could be worthless with this topic.
“Yes Emma.”
“What was your life like before you married the King?”
Regina stiffened at the question, because she knew exactly what Emma was asking her. She was asking her why had she married the King.
Emma almost started to backpedal but then Regina gave a long sigh and started counting the story of how an unloving mother had killed Regina’s True Love because a 10-year-old girl didn’t know how to keep a secret.
“Apparently, I’m not worth anything. Not even the control over my own life.” The Queen whispered, and wiped a tear that had already fallen.
“You are worth it Regina. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.” The blonde said and moved her thumb up to Regina’s cheek to wipe away the tears that were falling.
“To whom Emma?” Regina looked at her with teary eyes. She didn’t think in a millions years she would get to know all Regina’s insecurities.
“To me.” Here’s to nothings. Emma thought and leaned so she was now less than an inch from Regina’s lips. Regina closed the way and they shared their first kiss, none of them noticed the light that sparked from that kiss, a True Love’s Kiss
Slowly they moved to Regina’s bed, where Regina just laid there with only her robe to cover her up. Emma in her maid uniform as to not be suspicious slowly went to straddle the Queen.
“Is this okay?” Emma whispered, because she knew what it felt like to not have a choice on the matter and Regina deserved a choice. She looked at her with admiration and love in her eyes. Regina almost teared up again. No one had ever looked at her as if she was everything in the world.
“Yes.” Regina answered and it was all Emma needed to continue.
She moved upwards and kissed Regina who responded wholeheartedly. This was the first time she would make love to someone she wanted to and someone that wanted her in return. Not jut for her body or because she was the Queen of because the King was drunk and just wanted fuck someone, but because they loved her. She didn’t need words to express what she felt for Emma or what Emma felt in return but for the first time in ages, she was happy.
They pulled away and Emma started to disentangle the knot that kept Regina’s robe on her place. Finally, she did, and Regina moved so it wouldn’t be on their way. Since Emma had become her maid, the King hadn’t been able to put her hands on the Queen as much as he liked, but the few times he did he was still able to inflict some wounds. The current bruises were now fading but were still very visible.
Regina suddenly felt self-conscious at seeing Emma only staring at her. She tried to pull the covers on top of her so Emma wouldn’t see her. But a pair of strong wrists stopped her.
“Hey, what are you doing? Did I do something wrong?” Emma said to Regina with a confused and worried frown on her face.
“I know that I’m not the most attractive woman right now and I would understand if you don’t want to… have relations with me anymore.” Regina said and turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to see Emma’s face of rejection.
“You know what I was going to say before you started to pull up the covers? That you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Emma told her and Regina couldn’t believe her ears so she turned her face so she could face Emma to try and see if she was lying but all she saw was love in her eyes, it almost made her cry again. But this time of happiness.
“Do you want to keep going?” Emma asked her.
Regina could only nod, too many emotions would betray her mouth. Emma gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her again, tossing her own dress to the floor.
She then kissed her jawbone and moved to kiss her shoulders and her chest while Regina arched her back in expectation of what was coming. She then pulled away and traced with her fingers all the way from Regina’s neck to her stomach and then proceeded to kiss her right breast while massaging the other one with her hand. An awaiting nipple was ready, she sucked and smiled against Regina’s breast as her breath hitched.
She then trail with her mouth, leaving light kisses all the way down to her belly button and on her way towards Regina’s sex. She stopped just before there and looked at Regina to see if she was comfortable with all of this.
Regina frowned when Emma stopped and looked down at her only to be surprised that the emerald eyes were looking back at her.
“What?” Regina asked.
Emma chuckled. “Nothing.” And started to kiss the inner part of her thighs, which drove Regina crazy.
“Emma…” Regina whimpered and Emma put herself at work.
She gave a quick swipe with her tongue and Regina’s back arched. She kissed Regina’s clit.
“Please Emma…” she heard Regina begging for her attention. She continued to play with her tongue Regina’s clit and pushed one finger inside of Regina, making Regina moan at this.
She pumped her finger in out until she could find Regina’s G-spot, when she pushed another finger and continued until she felt Regina’s walls clenching until Regina was over the edge with her orgasm and moaned Emma’s name. Emma continued to lich Regina’s clit till she came down from the rush and when she did, she started to climb up so she could kiss Regina again.
Regina started to deepen the kiss but Emma pulled away.
“Tonight, it was all about you.” Emma pecked her lips while she opened her arms so Regina could lay next to her.
Regina nestled, laid her head on top of Emma’s shoulder and draped one arm over the blonde.
“Thank you Emma.” Regina whispered and started to fell asleep.
“I love you Regina.” Emma whispered and didn’t know if she wanted the Queen to hear it or not, but she didn’t have much chance to go over it as she as well started to drift off to sleep.
Since that night, Emma slept over at Regina’s bed and every time they made love it was exactly that, love not just sex and it was a first for both women.
Tonight, they were settling onto their nightly routine when someone banged in Regina’s room startling them both. They didn’t expect that the King’s soldiers would be in Regina’s chambers.
“Graham?” Regina yelled but there was no response.
“I’m sorry my Queen but Graham is a little bit indisposed.” The King answered her as she entered the room.
The King looked towards her soldiers, gave a quick look at Emma who have him a deadly look. “Take her to the dungeons.” The Kind ordered.
“No!” The Queen exclaimed and moved to stand before Emma in a protective way.
“Regina I’ll be fine. I don’t want the King to hurt you.” Emma said to Regina and moved so the soldiers could apprehend her.
“You know, this little whore is right.” He gave a nod to his soldiers and walked out of the room.
“No, Emma! Please, I can’t live without you.” Regina said between sobs and tears.
Emma remembered that she had to make Regina cast the curse and this was the perfect opportunity. “Yes you can Regina. Just remember, you will get your happy ending.”
“But what if you’re my happy ending?” Regina asked her.
Emma gave her a small smile. “I promise you’ll see me again.” The soldiers put the handcuffs on her and moved to walk out of the bedroom at the same time Graham entered, a trail of blood coming down his face.
“Take care of her.” Emma whispered and Graham gave her quick nod before she disappeared into the corridor.
Graham move to console the Queen, who was now sobbing freely in the floor. She knew that the King wouldn’t allow her to visit her in the dungeons and there was no way the King would set her free.
Just before they reached the dungeons, Emma started to feel the same way as she had when she touched Henry’s book and as they locked her in the cell, everything went black.
Emma woke up very dizzy for the second time in her adult life. At least this time where she had landed was soft. Emma groaned because everything hurt when she heard someone gasp.
“Emma? Can you hear me?” She knew that voice, and it wasn’t Mary Margaret’s or David’s or even Henry’s, it was Regina. What was she doing with Regina?
“Emma, I need you to wake up.” Regina told her in a soft voice, one she had never used while she was in Storybrooke but she had only heard in her time in the Enchanted Forest.
“R’gina?” Emma said in a raspy voice.
Regina let out a breath of relief as Emma fully opened her eyes. She finally managed to focus her eyes on Regina’s face and she could see the dried tracks of tears.
Then, Emma focused on the rest of the room and saw that wasn’t in her bedroom but in Regina’s living room, more specifically on her couch.
“What’s going on? Why are you crying? Why am I in your living room?” Emma started questioning as she tried to get up from the couch, but a firm hand stopped her.
“It appears that your little trip back in time changed my memories.” And Emma stared at her with eyes wide open. Shit, now Regina was really going to hate her.
“And I wanted to thank you.” Regina said and Emma’s jaw dropped to the floor. Seeing this, Regina continue to explain. “No one ever bothered to hear my part of the story and I’m glad it was you who knows all of my past. And I wanted to ask you something.” Regina started fidgeting, she was very nervous that now that Emma had come back and was now stucked with this Regina, she would reject her because in fact, she should because all Emma really knew was the past Regina, not the present Regina.
Emma’s eyes prompted her to continue. “Do you still love me?” Regina asked and a look of vulnerability passed through her. Why would Emma keep loving her? She had done nothing but make the blonde’s life a living hell. She looked down at her hands and waited for an answer.
Emma looked at her and her eyes softened, she knew exactly what was going on through Regina’s mind. The fear of being rejected, of not being enough. What surprised her was that the only time she had said those words, Regina was supposed to be asleep but apparently she wasn’t.
“Yes Regina.” Emma answered confidently.
Regina’s head snapped to look at her and was surprised that there wasn’t any trace of a lie on her voice or on her eyes or on her face. “Really?” Regina couldn’t help herself but wonder if it was true.
“Yes, you’re my happy ending and I promised you that I would see you again didn’t I?” Emma said with a teasing smile.
“Indeed you did.” Regina muttered and leaned so she could kiss Emma. For a moment, she was afraid that Emma wouldn’t respond to her kiss, that this was all a dream but she did. And it was the best kiss she could remember, even if it was a bit salty from her tears but that reminded of their technically first kiss. It had been the same, Regina being vulnerable and Emma being there for her.
Hi Danae, first of all Merry Christmas!! I hope you're having an awesome day :) Here's your Secret Santa gift from me, I hope you like it. However, it isn't quite finished yet. I know I know, I've had a month to do this but I'm super bad with deadlines. So this is the first part, kind of the lead in to the rest. I have written more of the rest and I will have it done by Christmas Day but Grace needs this now. So basically you're gonna be linked to this and then I'm going to post the whole thing on AO3 and link you to that. I hope that's okay. Enjoy…
A Lost Language
It was approximately five-thirty in the evening when Regina’s world came crashing down around her. She pulled up in front of her garage and locked her car. The porch light was on but none of the downstairs lights were – this wasn’t unusual as Henry spent most of his time in his room pointedly ignoring her. The silence was the first sign that something was wrong.
“Henry? I’m home, what would you like for your dinner?” Regina carefully took off her heels and put her keys in their designated bowl. No reply. Frowning she made her way through to the kitchen. No empty cup of juice or plate of toast crumbs. Backing up, Regina walked to the foot of the stairs. “Henry? Sweetheart are you upstairs?” Silence.
Regina’s heart started thumping, she could feel her hands trembling, her breaths short and sharp as she ran up the stairs and along to Henry’s room.
Empty.
Regina’s breath caught in her throat, tears leaking down her cheeks and gathering at her chin. This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t be happening.
Running back down the stairs, Regina grabbed her phone from the kitchen bench and dialled Henry’s number. Voicemail. Regina hung up and dialled the Sheriff’s station.
“Graham? Henry’s gone…Yes of course I’ve checked his room…and called him, no answer. He doesn’t have any friends, or none that I know of. Can you please come over here?... Thank you.” Regina slowly placed her phone down and took a deep breath. Silence pressed in all around her. Tears began to fall again, streaming down her cheeks as a sob escaped her. She felt her knees buckle and dropped to the floor, curling up against a cabinet.
Regina cried until her cheeks were sore and her head ached. She was staring at the wall opposite, motionless when Graham walked in, having rang the bell and received no answer. He helped her stand and guided her through to the lounge and onto the couch.
“Regina?” She nodded, “Can you tell me what happened?” A pause and then Regina nodded again.
“I came home and the house was quiet, too quiet. Usually Henry gets himself a snack and then goes up to his room but today…his room’s empty. He never came home.” A fresh sob escaped her lips. “Please find him.” Graham pulled her toward him, lightly stroking her shoulders.
“I’ll try.”
Regina eventually fell asleep, curled up on her couch. The cold bright sun of the dawn streaming through the window woke her early the next morning. Graham was gone.
Regina stretched slowly. For a moment last night was forgotten but then the silence crept back, enveloping everything. A single tear slid down her cheek but Regina rubbed it away. Crying wasn’t going to find Henry.
Regina ascended the stairs, ignoring Henry’s open door, and made her way to the shower. She was the mayor and she needed to keep up appearances.
Graham called an hour later. “Regina, I’m at Granny’s can you come and meet me?”
Silence fell over the usually bustling diner when Regina walked in. She looked around, cringing at the pity from everyone’s eyes. Graham was sat in a booth at the back so Regina marched straight over to him.
“What is it? What have you found?” Regina was barely in her seat before the questions came tumbling out.
“I’ve searched the beach and the woods and I can’t find any sign of him.” Regina’s face fell. “But I spoke to Mrs McKinnock from the store down the street and she thinks she saw Henry get on a bus at 3 o’clock yesterday. I’ve contacted the transport department and hopefully they can tell me where the bus was going.” Regina sighed in relief.
“When will they get back to you?”
“Within the next hour.”
Regina stood, “Call me as soon as you hear anything.”
“Of course Madam Mayor.”
Mrs McKinnock was taking stock when the mayor walked through her door.
“It’s Lydia isn’t it?” Regina smiled warmly. Lydia nodded. “Graham told me you saw Henry yesterday…?” Lydia put her clipboard down and walked down to the front of the shop.
“Yes, it was about three yesterday afternoon. I was just getting ready for the school rush when I looked out the window and saw him get on a bus.” Regina’s hands started to tremble again. She put them in her coat pockets and cleared her throat.
“Did you see where the bus was going?” Lydia paused and closed her eyes to think.
“Boston.” Regina fell back against the counter.
“Bo-Boston? Are you sure?” Lydia opened her eyes and nodded.
“Madam Mayor are you okay?” Regina slowly shook her head.
“I need to find Graham. Thank you for your help Lydia.”
“Graham!” The diner fell silent again but Regina ignored them. She raced over to the booth she had vacated only half an hour earlier. “Boston! Henry went to Boston.” Graham looked up from his paper as Regina sat back down in front of him.
“Are you sure?” Graham asked. Regina nodded.
“I went and spoke to Lydia McKinnock, she remembered where the bus was going. Boston.” Graham frowned.
“I didn’t know there was a bus to Boston from here?”
“That’s not important. I need to follow him. You’re in charge.” Regina placed a ring of keys on the table and smiled.
“But-“
“I should be back in a couple of days.” Regina stood and left the diner.
“You can’t cross the line.” Regina was leaning against her Mercedes when the voice popped up behind her. Jumping, she turned and glared at the man limping towards her.
“I’ve realised that.”
Five minutes earlier Regina had placed one foot over the invisible border that kept her town hidden from the rest of the world. Immediately her vision blurred, a wave of nausea washed over her and her knees went weak. Regina stepped back and her vision cleared. Damn.
Mr Gold smirked at the irate Mayor. “Unfortunately there is no way to cross the line and keep your memories. Not without Magic.” Regina whipped round.
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t play dumb with me Regina. Your curse weakened when Miss Blanchard gave your boy that book. I got my memories back yesterday afternoon, around three o’clock.” Regina balked. Mr Gold turned to watch her. “What happened yesterday afternoon Madame Mayor?”
“Henry ran away, he got on a bus to Boston.”
“Interesting.”
“Rumple can you help me or not?” Regina turned to face Mr Gold fully. Silence filled the space between them.
“Unfortunately there is nothing I can do Regina. Without Magic we’re stuck in Storybrooke.” Regina collapsed onto the road. Tears fell freely as she brought her knees up to her chest. “I’m sorry Regina.”
Her journey had already been delayed by hours so when Emma eventually collapsed onto her couch and pulled her case open, she groaned and swore loudly at the collection of neatly folded clothes that quite obviously weren’t hers. Brilliant. She swiped her phone from where it had been dumped on the coffee table and quickly googled the flight company’s helpline.
A thirty minute conversation later, she had another number to call and a lost and found code to enter online. Emma checked her watch and decided this could all wait until the morning. Her suitcase wasn’t going to be returned to her anytime soon and she was already slowly falling asleep. Going through her normal night-time routine, Emma pulled on her old sweats and dragged a brush through her hair. The shower could wait until morning too. She went back to the open case and stuffed the clothes she had rifled through back in. She almost had the lid closed when something inside sparkled, almost hidden by the top layer of clothing. Emma set the lid back down and delved into the now crumpled blouses, pulling a small leather bound book out.
The front cover had a black stone embedded in the centre and what appeared to be vines weaving along the outer edges. A strange script, nothing like any language Emma had ever seen, was written across the top and bottom. Emma opened the book and flicked through the first few pages. Hand written notes covered the parchment, any gaps were filled with drawings or further annotations of the text. Nothing was in English and the drawings contained symbols Emma didn’t recognise. A yawn escaped her and Emma threw the book onto the couch. She’d look through it tomorrow when she wasn’t so tired and annoyed.
Closing her bedroom door, Emma’s eyes closed the moment her head hit the pillow and she quickly fell into a deep sleep. Her dreams drifted from one to the next as if Emma was floating through them, observing but not quite taking part. Strange runes and drawings floated around her, weaving their way back and forth until a brunette woman appeared. Far away at first but moving closer and closer. Emma stopped floating, stuck in place. Soon enough the brunette was stood in front of her, her eyes searching for something. Before Emma knew what was happening, the brunette was kissing her, her arms wrapped around Emma’s neck and drawing her closer. Her lips soft and warm and so real. Emma relaxed into her embrace and started kissing this strange woman back.
Suddenly, the woman disappeared. Emma was left in the murky purple landscape that had come to surround the two women. She frantically looked around but her feet felt like they were walking through treacle and an annoying buzzing sound had begun in her ears. She swatted as best she could but the sound got louder and louder.
Regina paid her cab driver and hauled her suitcase from the boot. Approaching the hotel, a doorman held open the door and welcomed her. The receptionist was pleasant enough and even offered to have her bags sent up to her room for her. Regina politely declined, it was best if she didn’t let her case out of her sight she thought. Finally, she kicked off her heels and lay back on the queen-sized bed. The flight had been long and boring but now she was here, she could get started.
Dragging her case over to her, she hoisted it onto the bed and unzipped it. As the clothes came into view, Regina’s heart stopped. These weren’t her clothes. Frantically, she opened the case fully and began rifling through it. Jeans, hoodies, tank tops…this definitely wasn’t her case. Which meant her book wasn’t in here. Regina sat back, tears threatening to fall. The one thing Rumple had told her was to keep the book safe. At all costs don’t let the book out of your sight.
Her heart thumped heavily in her chest. What was she supposed to do now? Regina grabbed her phone and quickly found and dialled the flight company helpline. They gave her a lost and found code and told her that if she hadn’t been sent an email by morning confirming a match, she was to call a different number. Regina immediately went on the website and entered the code and then put her phone down and waited.
Emma jerked awake, her phone’s alarm buzzing on the table beside her head. “Fuck.” She groaned. She’d forgotten to turn her alarm off the night before. Blearily she checked the time and her notifications. 8:30am. Two texts from her parents, one from her boss asking when she could come into the office for a briefing and an email from the flight company asking her to rate her flight.
Emma ignored the texts and instead opened up the company’s webpage from the night before. After a quick search she found the lost luggage tab and entered the code she had been given. Almost instantly, a new email appeared in her inbox. They had found her bag. A smiled drifted across Emma’s lips and she followed the link to an online chat with whomever had her bag. Hopefully she’d be reunited with her jeans sooner than she thought.
Her stomach gurgled loudly so she typed out a quick message and threw her phone back onto the pillow before going to make her coffee.
Hi,
I accidentally took your bag at the airport yesterday. Could you let me know where you live and I can pop round to swap them back.
Thanks,
Emma Swan
Upon her return, Emma found one new message. Setting her coffee down, she slid back under her comforter and opened it.
Hi Emma,
I’m actually staying at the Park Regent, on the corner of Park Avenue and East 59th Street. I’ll be in my room until 11am today so if you could come by before then that would be great.
Many thanks,
Regina Mills
Emma checked the time again, 9:02am. If she rushed the shower she could probably get there for eleven. Sighing, she took a sip of her coffee and clicked reply.
Hi Regina,
I can be at your hotel for 11. Do you want to meet in the lobby?
Emma
It was ten minutes before a reply came through and Emma was just stepping into the shower when her phone buzzed again.
Hi Emma,
Yes that is fine. I will be wearing a purple scarf.
Many thanks,
Regina
Emma locked her phone.
11:05am
Regina checked her watch again and tapped the arm of her plush chair in frustration. Emma was late. She stood up and paced back and forth in front of the chair, checking the hotel door every time it swooshed open. Five minutes later a blonde woman, young and flustered, barged through the door and into the busy lobby, a purple case trundling along behind her. Regina surged forward,
“Emma?” The blonde turned and grinned.
“Yep! You must be Regina?” Regina nodded. Emma walked over and stood the suitcase beside Regina’s chair. She picked up the handle of her own suitcase. “I’m so sorry about this, I was practically asleep coming off my flight last night and I must have queued at the wrong luggage claim. I just saw a purple case and grabbed it.” Regina smiled tightly.
“I’m glad we managed to find each other so quickly. I was worried my case would be flying half way around the world.” Emma laughed lightly and watched as Regina picked up her case and examined the zips. After a moment, Regina looked up to find Emma watching her.
“If that will be all Miss Swan?” Emma shook herself.
“Err yeah, I hope you enjoy your trip Regina. See you.” And with a half wave and an awkward smile, Emma left the lobby and walked back out into the busy street. From here, she could see Regina opening her case in the lobby and search through it. After a panicked moment, a look of immense relief washed over Regina’s face as she grabbed the book and held it tight to her chest.
Emma frowned. This woman was weird…and pretty. Suddenly ‘Ruby’ by The Kaiser Chiefs started to play loudly from her back pocket. Fumbling, Emma pulled her phone out and answered it,
“Rubes, what’ve you got for me…”
11:05am
Emma swore under her breath as her cab pulled out into a gridlock of traffic, she was late and still about ten blocks away. Slumping back into the seat, she began to play with the case on her phone when a thought struck. Opening up her messages, she tapped her roommate’s name and began typing.
‘Rubes, I need you to check this out for me and tell me what language it is/what it says. I’ll tell you why later’
Emma pressed send and pulled Regina’s case onto the seat beside her. Unzipping it, she pulled the book out and set in down on her lap. Switching to the camera, Emma proceeded to take photos of the front and back and the first ten or so pages. Adding them to a message, Emma sent them off to her roommate before stuffing the book back in amongst the half folded clothes.
It was almost ten past when she checked the time again and her cab had barely moved five feet. Emma swore again and handed the driver a bunch of notes before hauling the suitcase out and running up the street to Regina’s hotel.
“I don’t recognise the language Emma.” Emma had started to walk toward the subway as she talked to her roommate, a linguistics PhD student called Ruby Lucas. “It isn’t Latin, Germanic, Celtic, Slavic, Sanskrit or Arabic. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Emma groaned. “Where is it from? The symbols look a bit like hieroglyphs or some sort of Latin American script but they don’t match anything we have here.” Emma rubbed her temple.
“Okay, you’re gonna think I’m crazy but I picked up the wrong case after my flight yesterday and this book was in the case. It’s full of this weird language and those drawings and when I gave the case back just now, the woman hugged the book like…like it was her most prized possession. She was frantic about getting her case back.” Ruby sighed on the other end.
“I can send it up to the history department? They can see if it’s a lost language?” Emma paused.
“So long as no one asks any questions, I don’t want your mates thinking I’m weird.” Ruby rolled her eyes.
“Bit late for that babe.” Emma stuck her tongue out at the handset before chuckling.
“Thanks Ruby, I’ll see you tonight yeah?”
“Yeah I should be back around 7. I’m staying there tonight and going to Belle’s tomorrow.”
“Okay, see you later.” Emma hung up and turned to look back up the street. An idea began to form in her mind. She had a couple of days off and with nothing else to do, Emma decided she wanted to know more about Regina. Something wasn’t right,
Regina zipped up her suitcase and rode the elevator up to her floor. Entering her room, she left the case by the door and sat on the edge of the bed.
Slowly, Regina opened the book and traced the first word with her finger. Immediately she felt a vibration, running through her palm and up her arm and filling her chest with an electric warmth. Her whole body thrummed. She closed her eyes and lay her palm flat against the first page. She could feel the Magic swirling around her, eager to fill the void it had left 28 years ago. Regina sucked in a breath and relaxed as the Magic consumed her.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes. The room seemed brighter, more vibrant. The sounds from the street below were louder and every nerve ending crackled. Holding out her palm, Regina gasped as ball of flames leapt into life and flickered slowly.
She watched the flames dance before closing her palm and extinguishing them. Now that she had her Magic back she could find Henry.
Merry Christmas! I was planning to write you a one shot fic because I wanted to give you a completed present for Secret Swanta, but the muse wouldn’t stop poking me about this idea and I’ve ended up giving up. So... You get a piece of fanart and the prologue of what will quite probably end up being a decently sized sort of longish fic. Think of it as an ongoing present, and know that updating as fast as possible is at the top of my new year’s resolutions!
Best wishes,
Your Secret Swanta
The Shampoo Algorithm
~ Prologue ~
“That a good book?”
Henry looks up, disoriented. The voice that’s brought him back from his musings belongs to a girl who looks just a few years older than himself. She’s sporting red streaks in her otherwise dark hair and Henry has a momentary bout of nostalgia for a certain waitress and her perfectly made cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon.
“So?” The girl asks again, expectantly, and Henry realizes he never answered her.
“This? It’s more than just a book.”
“You seem to be really into it. Been looking at that thing for the whole trip. What is it about?”
“Fairytales.”
“Fairytales,” the girl repeats skeptically.
Just as he’s about to launch into a detailed explanation about The Book, a muffled voice on the loudspeaker interrupts.
“Boston. South Station. Thank you for riding Greyhound.”
Henry closes The Book, tucks it under his arm, and smiles. “I’ll tell you about it another time.”
“Sure,” the girl says, looking at him now as if he has two heads. She’s probably thinking he’s a weirdo but Henry doesn’t mind. He gets off the bus and drinks in the big city sights, small smile on his face. Here we go, he thinks eyeing the yellow cabs parked in the street corner. Again.
Ho, ho ho! First of all happy Christmas, I hope you enjoy a few days of relax before going back to the stress that is the rest of the year ;) I’m mostly a writer of one shots so that’s what I finally settled with, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it ;) Take care!
There is only a thing I could ever want more than you
Emma tossed a coin into the air and caught it swiftly with her right hand, her tongue between her teeth as she did so. Her eyes were completely focused on the tiny piece of metal that soon enough was tossed once again in front of her, her left hand being this time the one that caught it. The midday cold sun of December was entering through the open windows of the station, a cooling coffee on the edge of the table in where a disarray of blank papers and doodled ones covered almost a hundred percent of its surface.
The blonde grumbled when the coin managed to escape her hold, the metal hitting the floor of the place with a soft clink. Bending her body, she grabbed one playful tress of blonde curl and put it behind her ear as she rose once again, the little coin firmly held between her fingers. Grinning, she turned on her chair, almost falling when she found herself looking at an amused Ruby, the werewolf raising a brow as she eyed the blonde’s hand who put it behind her back, as if trying to hide what she had been doing until the werewolf had entered into the station.
Chuckling, the lanky brunette walked towards Emma and seated on the edge of the table, picking a few of the discarded papers and taking a glance at the doodles, eyebrows raising even more when she looked at Emma once again.
“Regina would probably kill you if she ever finds this” Her voice, albeit gentle and holding a soft reminder sounded as if the brunette was about to laugh and her lips did curl upwards once Emma groaned, closing her green eyes and letting a blush overcame her.
“There is nothing to do” The blonde mumbled, taking a deep breath and holding out her hands, her palms facing Ruby so the little coin was exposed once again. Gulping and leaving the coin on the table’s surface, Emma eyed Ruby sheepishly once again, the werewolf this time not even bothering to hide her amusement.
“You are bored? I thought that going to hell and back would have certainly vow you out of adventures for the time being”
“Hell was almost a year ago” Emma mumbled, looking every bit of the child Regina almost always was referring her to. Ruby shook her head once at Emma’s behavior, smile still on her lips.
“So being without a big evil in town actually requires so much paperwork?” The werewolf pointed out at the pile with her thumb, papers still on her hand as she did so. The blonde shrugged at that and scratched the back of her neck, the same sheepish smile of before appearing once again.
“Ask that to Regina, she is being telling me once and again that I need to keep doing paperwork even though Storybrooke is mostly dead for now”
“I’m going to omit the pun here” Ruby whispered at that, loud enough for Emma to hear it and chuckle alongside the werewolf. The brunette had returned to the town in the middle of their hell situation and she almost smacked Emma when Snow explained to her the reason they had decided to travel and so transform Storybrooke in such place.
“Besides” Emma continued, making the werewolf to blink again and return to the present. “There is also another thing…”
The former considered savior fumbled with the penchant she always wore on her neck, her long fingers tangling themselves on it as she did so, green eyes suddenly avoiding to look at Ruby’s who nodded, letting Emma know that she was listening to her.
“I don’t know what to get Regina, for Christmas” The blonde admitted, pointing at the windows where the sun shone against the thick pile of snow that was visible at the other side. The cold light only managed to shimmer against the pile and for a second Ruby thought about it, remembering the days she had spent on the enchanted forest not so long ago; snow hadn’t looked like it did back on Storybrooke, nothing did to be truthful. That had been one of the reasons she had traveled back.
“You want to give her something?” The werewolf asked, suddenly curious, Emma and Regina had certainly return different from Hell and that was something the whole town had noticed; they were closer than ever and it was actually strange to see one of them without the other already near but she would have never pegged Emma as one to actually make any gifts on Christmas time.
The blonde nodded once again and put her hands on the table, the sound of ruffled papers filling the station for a second as she opened her mouth once again.
“I’ve been thinking about it” She finally said, a soft blush on her cheeks that seemed to only grow stronger when she continued “I’ve asked Henry and Snow but they don’t seem too sure of what I could give to her”
“Have you think of flowers?” Ruby offered, still a little bit puzzled. She could remember Merida telling her that there was a particular rumor about the two women and in that moment she had just laughed. I think I will need to invite Merida next time I see her she thought, waiting for Emma to answer.
“I don’t want to give her something that’s… cliché” Emma replied, biting her lower lip and sighing second before, her green eyes going back to the window. She looked younger in a way and Ruby blinked, deciding inwardly that she indeed was going to have to talk to Merida as soon as she was able to.
“Then what would you want to give her?”
Emma sighed and looked at her hands, nervous. When she had asked Snow about it her mother had looked at her with the same expression she had been getting since Hell; careful yet hopeful. A look that Henry also seemed to share whenever she found herself mentioning Regina whenever the boy was around. It wasn’t that Emma didn’t understood such glances, she had been painfully aware about them the second she had just turned from Hook’s grave, eyes set and a decision already on her mind. She had been aware about it the second Regina had looked at her and she had nodded, smiling gently and rising her hand just one single millimeter, enough to caress the back of Emma’s hand, just for a second. And yet…
And yet or precisely because of such looks she still doubted, doubted if she had really done enough, if she was doing right by trying to find a Christmas present for the former queen, a woman who had decided to go to hell and back just after admitting she wasn’t keen on going, keen on eyeing the ones she had once ago killed. Just because she had asked to.
“I don’t know” She finally said, teeth sinking on the tender flesh of her lip. “I just want to give her something but everything is just too….”
“Cliché-y” Ruby finished for her at which Emma nodded once.
“I want to give her something more than just an already overused idea”
Ruby looked at the window, moving her body slightly to the left in order to be able to hold the blonde’s hands, cold and buzzing like every one she had known who possessed magic. For a second her mind went back to the day she had been near Emma and no magic had been there, not a tad, not a buzz; it had really been long ago, too much perhaps. Emma wasn’t the woman that had entered on the dinner one day and Regina….
“Then just give her something that only you two can understand” She said and she could see something on the back of Emma’s eyes, nervousness mixed with something that she couldn’t quite place, something that was soon replaced by calmness.
“Mulan told me the same thing”
Ruby chuckled at that; despite what Mulan may seem but her apparent toughness she usually knew how to say.
“She did?” She asked instead.
Emma nodded at that, smirking for the first time since Ruby had entered. “She talked to me also, about what she was going to get you, expect something interesting…”
Blushing, Ruby looked at her left, hearing the blonde’s soft chuckle and finally letting out one chuckle of her own.
“Yes, well, I’m also thinking on what I could get her”
The two women remained silent for a few seconds, Ruby still with a blush that slowly disappeared under Emma’s silent gaze.
She hadn’t questioned the day she had seen Mulan by Ruby’s side, the two of them talking softly between them. Snow had certainly questioned the werewolf but the brunette hadn’t answered the incessant questions of her friend and Emma had finally managed to calm the nagging woman. Neither Ruby nor she had talked about it after that but Emma had saw both Mulan and Ruby on the dinner, the warrior looking at the werewolf with a particular gentleness that made her smile.
“So do you don’t have any ideas for Regina?” Ruby finally asked, her eyes going back to Emma’s, her brunette tresses framing her eyes who shone mischievously for a second at the sight of the blonde’s embarrassed smile.
“Nothing good enough”
The werewolf hummed, maybe she had been right, she thought, maybe Emma wasn’t the gift type and that was the reason she was struggling so much. With a pensive look, however, Emma continued talking, embarrassment disappearing from her eyes.
“I want to make her smile”
It was the furthest she had go of why she wanted to give a gift to Regina and for a second she hold her breath, not knowing what to expect from the other woman. Ruby nodded at the confession though and sighed, knowing perfectly well what Emma meant.
“After Hell and the whole Robin situation” The blonde continued “Henry has told me that she doesn’t seem to sleep a lot so I had thought on giving her something for that, perhaps some tea that can help her to relax” The blonde interlaced her fingers, nervously playing with the shoelace on her wrist “But I don’t want to look as if…”
She stopped midsentence, not knowing how to say what she had in mind. She hadn’t been the only one who had made a decision back on Hell and Regina’s had proven to be one much more difficult that perhaps her own. Robin had certainly looked pissed after that and Zelena…
The blonde gulped slightly, remembering the day Regina had managed to bring her sister back from Oz, a guilty look on her eyes and an apology the redhead hadn’t wanted to hear. Not at first at least.
“She has been through a lot” She finally said, sighing, her magic seeming to bubble inside of her like every time her thoughts went to Regina. “Tea seems stupid”
“Is thoughtful” Ruby provided but understood what Emma wanted to say. Caressing the palm of her right hand with her left, nails raking her skin, she tried to also think on something.
“But I want… something else”
Ruby looked at Emma straightly at the sound of that confession, eyeing the now more than ever blushing woman who closed her eyes for a second, her hands now aggressively fumbling with the shoe lace.
“Perhaps that’s what you want to have?” She said carefully. If there was someone who was more closed off than Regina was Emma herself, more so after what had happened back with the dagger. She didn’t have all the details, mostly because Snow hadn’t been too keen on explaining them and Emma had refused to think about it, not before talking with Archie at least, and Ruby had understood her thirst for privacy. It was something that as a savior she barely had. “Something else?”
Her words seemed to echo on the silent station, Emma’s fingers stilling after a moment, tongue peeking between her teeth.
“I think I have the gift” She finally said, a soft smile on her fingers, her eyes glazing as Ruby looked at them.
Ruby nodded and stood, standing awkwardly in the middle of the station as she did so. “I came here only to ask you if you wanted to eat something” She admitted “Snow had been asking me if I knew why you were so silent these past few days”
“She worries a lot” The blonde conceded.
“Yes” Ruby said, smirking for a second before continuing “I told her that I wasn’t the right person to ask though, she admitted that Regina would be a better option but apparently she had been the same as you the whole week and she didn’t want to bother her”
And with that the werewolf turned and closed the door behind her, chuckling on the hall as she heard Emma’s protests from the other side of the door. Yes, she nodded, picking her phone, she really owned a real big beer to Merida.
….
The werewolf didn’t hear what happened a few days before, on the brink of the day of Christmas night. Rumors couldn’t bring everything as it seemed and it wasn’t until later when she received a phone call from Emma explaining her the truth when she even had the confirmation of her suspicions.
But if she had had been near Regina’s house on Christmas day the second Emma had knocked on the door and had waited until Regina opened her door with a disheveled look and confusion on her eyes she would have been able to actually listen to the mumbled conversation that followed, nervousness on Emma’s voice as she presented the brunette with one single gift, paper slightly crumbled and stammering words on her lips.
“I want to make you happy” She had said, nervousness and fear echoing on her voice, fear of perhaps committing an error, of perhaps doing something that Regina wouldn’t like. “I want to see you smile and I’ve had… that thought the day I promised you help with finding the author, I had had that idea since you asked me to let you be Regina”
Regina had remained silent, door still partially closed, her body leaning on a doorjamb. She looked beautiful, sleep still on her brown eyes, and Emma thought it as she kept talking, her hands still holding her gift.
It was something so precious, to see Regina like that, human, that she needed a few seconds before doing so.
“I don’t know how to do this or how to explain myself. I’ve never been the most eloquent person, you have told me that once or twice but… I guess I wanted to give you something, to make… to do something right”
And Regina had smiled at that and had nodded, voice heavy with sleep, tenderness on the soft echoes of her voice once she talked.
“Enter”
And Emma did.
Later, much much later, Ruby would know that the gift had been one single picture nestled into a Christmas glass ball, the mirror making it blurry and slightly distorted but it still could be seen Storybrooke docks and one single bench, something that looked like Emma’s handwriting at one side of it.
“Let’s keep walking” It could be read.
Ruby would need months even before Emma decided to show her, Merida and Mulan the gift and it would be even later when the rest of the town would discover the brunette mayor and the blonde sheriff holding hands, a smug smile on the former queen lips. But everyone woke that early morning day, on Christmas time, when something close to a beam of light washed over them, snow freshly fallen glinting on the streets.
And for two particular women Christmas had indeed arrived.
Accidents can be a lot of things. Tragic, sure. But also, sometimes, miraculous. The accident that made Regina different from everyone else was both. She lost her mother, Cora. Sure, her mother was a bitch, but Regina still loved her, and she was all Regina had, really. Cora, in her own dysfunctional way, loved her, too. Cora died of radiation poisoning when exposed to nuclear waste in the water supply, as so many others did, but for some reason, Regina didn’t die with her. Instead, she changed.
Regina had become a night owl since the spill. Something about the darkness soothed her, like she belonged there. She sometimes thought she saw her mother’s face in the moon. It made her think her mother was watching her, still. If she were living, she would have plenty of criticism, but Regina hoped she had found peace in death. Regina was trying. Trying to find a way to live, totally alone in the world. She found that the oceans waves rose and sank in sync with her tears falling onto the sand, which was somehow calming, comforting even, like nature understood her, even if no one else did.
Regina felt like she had been pulled here by outside forces. She could have resisted, but she didn’t really have anything better to do. Whatever this force was, she had felt it before. It wanted her to use her newfound abilities. She ignored it when she thought she might be exposed, because being locked up in a lab somewhere could actually make her life worse, but it helped a little to help others here and there. Tonight, however, was different. There were no cries for help. Further down the beach, there was a blonde doing some kind of karate. The mysterious force that brought Regina to this beach urged her to go towards this woman.
Regina looked up at the sky. “Look, I don’t know who you are or what your game is. Why should I go talk to that woman? I don’t know her. She’s clearly not in any danger. From the looks of things, she can take care of herself.” The pull got stronger. “Fine, fine, I’m going.”
Regina approached the woman slowly. “Hey,” she said nervously. “Whatcha doing there?”
“Just practicing. I could use a partner.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know about all that. I don’t have any, uh, training. I just sort of wing it, you know.” Regina’s eyes scanned the woman’s form, her flattering white tank top and yoga pants, and she forgot what she was saying. “Oh, I’m Regina, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Emma,” said the blonde. “Emma Swan. I should get back to the hotel, actually, my son’s waiting for me. Nice meeting you.” She held her hand out.
Regina gladly shook it, but she held it for a little too long and got flustered. “Uh, okay. Have a good night.”
Emma turned to walk away, but then paused and looked back. “Hey, I’m not normally so friendly with strangers, but would you like a drink? I’ll just put Henry to bed first. Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
Regina surprised herself by saying, “Well, um… that sounds... great, actually.” Who was this woman, anyway? What was it about her that caused Regina to lose her cool and fumble over her words? She was beautiful, sure, but there was something else. Cora had always taught Regina to be refined, elegant, and here she was a bumbling fool in front of a stranger. I’m sorry, Mother, she thought.
When they got to the hotel, Emma led Regina to the elevator. Regina wished she could think of something interesting to say. What came out was, “So, you like karate?”
“That was actually tai chi. Usually it’s done slowly for meditative purposes, but when it’s done quickly, it can be a lethal martial art.”
Regina blushed a little. “Oh. I didn’t know that. You looked... “ she tried to think of a word. “Skilled,” she decided. “How long have you been practicing?”
“Eleven years,” said Emma. “I started while I was pregnant.”
Regina tried to conceal her surprise. “You can… do that? While you’re pregnant?”
“I started out slow and built my way up. It’s a good workout. I could show you some if you want.” Emma offered, raising an eyebrow.
“Heh. Well… maybe, I uh, will take you up on that.” Regina looked away. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
“Follow me,” said Emma. “This way.”
When they got to the door to the room, Emma got out her key. “Stay out here. If Henry knows I’m with a friend, he’ll want to stay up all night with us. Kids, you know. I’ll just be a few minutes.”
When Emma came back out of the hotel room, she smiled at Regina warmly. “He’s all tucked in. Doesn’t guarantee he’s going to actually sleep, but I think the z’s will catch up to him soon. Come on, there’s a bar downstairs open all night. First round’s on me.”
As they took the elevator back down, Regina wondered what she had gotten herself into. She was used to staying up nights, but drinking with a stranger was a new one. Maybe alcohol resistance was one of her newfound powers. That would probably be good, because alcohol typically made Regina… flirty, at best. At worst, desperate.
When they got to the bar, Regina was relieved to see no one else was already there. She ordered an appletini. Emma ordered a glass of whiskey on the rocks. That’s not feminine at all. What do they call that? Butch, Regina thought. But she doesn’t look manly. She looks like a woman. With that golden fleece and porcelain skin. And a smile that could light up a room. She makes me feel… something. Something new.
“So,’ Emma said, “What do you do? For a living, I mean?”
Regina looked away as she sipped her appletini. “Well, I haven’t worked for a long time. Nothing, I guess.”
Emma took a gulp of whiskey. “Okay, what did you do when you did work?”
“I played cello. Since I was four, actually. My mom made me take lessons, and my teacher said I was a protege. I used to perform all over the world.”
Emma finished her glass and asked for another. She turned to Regina and said, with real empathy, “That sounds amazing. What would make you quit doing something like that?”
Regina’s throat tightened. No, she thought. I will not cry in front of this… Emma person. “I lost somebody.”
Emma put her hand on Regina’s back, in what was meant to be a comforting gesture, but it sparked something in Regina. Regina felt her face get hot, and hoped she wasn’t turning red. Emma spoke to her softly. “Someone you loved. I lost someone, too. I still think about her sometimes.”
Regina finished her appletini. She ordered a hard apple cider next. “I like apples,” she said defensively.
“Okay, okay, I’m not judging,” said Emma, chuckling. “So, are you going to tell me what you were doing alone on that beach in the middle of the night?”
“It’s hard to explain. You’ll probably think I’m crazy or like, really new agey or something.” Regina sipped her cider.
“These days, I don’t think I have room to call anybody else crazy, things I’ve done, things I’ve seen.” Emma gulped down some more whiskey.
“You sound like an interesting person. Let’s talk about you. What do you do for a living, Miss Swan?” Regina countered.
Emma shook her head. “Don’t go changing the subject, Regina. What were you doing on that beach all by your lonesome?” Emma nudged Regina gently. “Come on, you can tell me.”
Regina took a deep breath. “Okay. Sometimes, I feel drawn to… people, places. Like they’re a giant magnet and I’m some kind of metal getting pulled into them. First I was pulled to the beach, then to you. I don’t know why, it’s just how things are with me.”
Emma sat up straight for the first time, her face serious. “Is this a joke? Did somebody pay you? Who was it?”
“What? No, I’m telling you the truth. That’s how it happened.”
Emma stood up, slamming the last of her whiskey. “Who are you? Stay away from me. Stay away from my son. I never want to see you again, you hear me? If I see you again, we’re going to have a confrontation, and believe me, you don’t want that.”
Emma stormed away, leaving Regina confused and wondering what went wrong.
During the holiday season many people tend to reflect back at the year they had and remember all of the new memoires they had acquired. For me, one that stands out the most is joining the Swen fandom. Swen has provided me with many opportunities, such as participating in this Secret Swanta, and my life has truly been changed for the better since joining. I have met many new amazing people and have been able to explore my creative side. Swen has provided me an escape from our world and a journey into one where magic exists and anything is possible. I hope, by presenting you with my Secret Swanta gift, I am able to bring you into that world as well. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to create this gift for you. I hope your holidays are going well and that you are among loved ones. What I hope you can take from this experience is that Swen will always be here for you if you need a friend or just someone to listen. Thank you for all that you do, whether it is in the fandom or in your daily life. You truly deserve the best this Christmas and I hope you enjoy my gift.
Much Love,
Your Secret Swanta
If Only for a Night
Emma and Regina first meet one night at The Rabbit Hole, having both been dragged there by their respective friends, and hit it off instantly. Deciding to be daring for a night, Regina suggestively tells the blonde that she’ll be in the bathroom waiting for her. Not sure if she’s ready for any serious commitment, Emma debates with herself briefly before taking the plunge and following the woman. What’s the worst that could happen?
Emma inhaled deeply before gathering up enough courage to push open the bathroom door in front of her. She knew what she was getting into by following the mysterious brunette, but the blonde couldn’t ignore the pulsing sensation between her legs the woman had left. Once she made it inside, Emma’s brows knitted in confusion when the darker-haired woman was nowhere to be found, but before she could entertain the thought any further, she felt someone pull her from behind. The next thing the blonde knew she was pinned to the back of the restroom door.
Before she could recover from the quick movement, the brunette hungrily attacked her lips with her own, causing her to moan audibly. The blonde melted into the kiss and responded in kind, allowing her hands to roam the other woman’s body freely. “Damn, this woman is perfect.” Right as she finished her inner musing, Emma began to feel the other woman pull away and almost whimpered at the loss until she felt her lean into her left ear, her hot breath causing every hair on Emma’s neck to stand on end.
“And here I was beginning to worry you wouldn’t show,” husked the brunette, who the blonde recalled revealing herself as Regina. In response to the woman Emma leaned forward, her pink lips latching onto the olive-toned flesh that resided over the dark-haired woman’s pulse point. Then in one swift movement she took over control by flipping their positions and pinning Regina’s hands above her head. Emma couldn’t help the rush of excitement that flooded to her core at the sight of the woman’s body before her. Their eyes met briefly and the blonde reluctantly tore her gaze away as she focused on the woman’s now bruised lips.
Now that she was in control, Emma felt more confident in her actions and removed one of her hands from above Regina while still holding the woman’s own firm with her other one. Using the now free hand the blonde snaked up the woman’s silk blouse to cup her bra-cladded breast, and released a smirk when she felt the woman’s back curve into her touch while letting out a moan. “Anxious are we,” joked the blonde in a low voice. The blonde caught the brunette’s gaze and let out a moan of her own at the predatory expression she was wearing before releasing her hands and hoisting the woman up onto the nearby counter.
Emma made quick work of removing the other woman’s shirt then discarding her own when she felt the other woman’s hands graze her taut stomach. Once again their eyes met, each sporting their own yearning looks for one another’s touch. Leaning forward, Emma ridded the other woman of her lacey bra while the brunette used her hands to explore the blonde’s every curve. When dusty nipples came into Emma’s view, she didn’t hesitate a moment before latching her mouth onto one of the hardened buds, craving the taste of the brunette. In response Regina leaned back on the palms of her hands to allow the blonde more access to her ample breasts.
After giving each of the woman’s breasts an equal amount of attention, the blonde got the signal to move on to her more…intimate parts. Adorning a wolfish grin Emma used a hand to hike up the Regina’s skirt, then proceeded to travel her hand to the woman’s throbbing sex. When she had reached her destination, the dark-haired woman let out an involuntary gasp, and Emma could tell that the woman was close. Discarding the brunette’s matching lace underwear, the blonde began a slow pace before speeding up when Regina’s hips repeatedly thrusted towards her in encouragement. It wasn’t long before the woman came hard then was determined to return the favor in tenfold.
Yes, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Who knows, maybe they’d even become something more. All that Emma knew was that she was glad that she had joined her friend Ruby that night at The Rabbit Hole, and Regina was glad she did the same with Kathryn.
Swan Queen – Chat Fics
Chat Fic #1 – Unhappy Endings
Regina: Miss Swan, would you please inform your friend that there are no pets allowed in my office?
Ruby: *Glares angrily*
Emma rolls her eyes then lays a calming hand on the waitress’ shoulder.
Emma: What, are you jealous, Madame Mayor?
Regina: I am most certainly not! I just don’t feel like hiring an exterminator when she allows flees to disrupt my sanctum.
Emma: Come on, Ruby. Let’s go. We don’t need this.
They both turn to leave.
Regina: Wait! I still need to speak to you…about Henry.
Emma: *Glances to Ruby*
Ruby: I’ll be outside.
Emma: *Nods then watches woman leave* What is this about, Regina? And don’t give me some BS excuse about Henry failing another math test. We both know he’s gotten too good for that.
Regina: *Sighs deeply* I miss you, Emma.
Emma (warning voice): Regina…
Regina: *Hands up defensively* I know, I know I was the one who ended things, but…
Emma: *shifts nervously on feet*
Regina: Wait…you’re hiding something, aren’t you?
Emma: I guess I’ve been putting off telling you this for too long.
Regina: *Worried expression*
Emma: I’m sort of with someone else now.
Regina: WHAT?!
Ruby bursts into the office ready to murder.
Ruby: Emma, are you okay?!
Emma (whispers): I’m sorry, Regina.
Emma turns and walks out of the room, both sets of eyes follow. One in confusion, the other heartbreak.
Ruby: *Turns to Regina* What was all that about?
Regina: I’ve made a horrible mistake.
A single tear trails down the mayor’s face as she watches with glassy eyes the savior’s lively, blonde curls leave her office.
Chat Fic #2 – A Stitch in Time
Snow: *Opens apartment door* Regina, what are you–
Regina (urgent): I need to see Emma.
Snow: *Confused expression* Okay…
Emma approaches from kitchen as Snow exits the room to give them some privacy.
Emma: What’s going on? *Eyes widen* Is Henry alright?
Regina: Henry’s fine. Listen, *Takes in deep breath* I made the mistake long ago of not telling you this sooner…
Emma: *Knits eyebrows* Tell me what?
Regina: I love you, Emma.
Emma: *Taken aback* Regina, I–
Regina: Don’t try denying it; I know you love me too.
Emma: What makes you so sure?
Regina: Because…I’m from the future.
Emma (unbelieving): The future? *Snorts and looks around* Okay, where are the hidden cameras.
Regina (serious): I assure you, Miss Swan. This is no laughing matter. I have feelings for you.
Emma: *Face falls* But…
Regina: Yes, I know Robin is supposedly my ‘soulmate’, but wasn’t the whole point of Operation Mongoose to decide out own fate?
Emma: *Smiles brightly* You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say those words to me, Regina.
Regina: *Opens arms wide* Come here, you idiot.
They get lost in the taste of each other’s mouths. Snow walks out casually.
Snow: Hey, Emma…have you seen where I put the–*rushes to cover eyes* Oh, God! It’s porn!
I would apologize for that ending, but if I were being honest I’d say that every Swan Queen fanfic should end with that line. ;)
Chat Fic #3 – Vampire AU
Regina returns home from work with her mansion full of her typical vampire friends.
Kathryn: *Wrinkles nose in disgust* What's that smell?
Regina: *Rolls eyes at finicky friend*It's nothing. I've been around humans all day.
Graham: *Knits brows* I smell it, too. I don't think that–
Everyone hears a sound and turns towards the archway into the living room they are currently occupying. Regina spots a flash of familiar blonde hair.
Regina: Emma?
___
Regina (demanding): How did you find this place?
Emma: *Shrugs* I followed you.
Regina (enraged): You what? Why–
Emma: *Meets eyes* Honestly, I thought you were in trouble.
Regina: *Exhales* This is bad. This is very bad.
Emma (amazed): So...you are all vampires?
Regina: NO!
Graham: Reg, she heard us. You can't–
Regina: But–
Graham: I know.
Regina (relents): Fine. We are–but you can't tell anyone. I'm serious. If you do–
Emma: *Rolls eyes dramatically* Off with my head, I got it. My lips are sealed. *Beaming smile*
Emma begins searching around the house, looking under things.
Regina: What are you doing?
Emma: *Continues searching* Isn't there supposed to be some hidden room behind a bookshelf where you guys keep your dungeon or something?
Graham: *chuckles*
Regina: *Incredulous look* Oh my god! You're kidding, right?
Emma: *Turns to Regina* Geez. It's just a joke.
Graham: *Looks between the two women* Hey, Reg. Can I have a word?
___
Graham pulls Regina into the empty kitchen while Kathryn watches Emma.
Regina (confused): What?
Graham (annoyed): What's with you? She's a guest.
Regina: She stalked me and let herself in. That's hardly guest behavior.
Graham: You're acting like a bitch. I mean, if I was reading the signs right I'd say you–*Pauses then stares at Regina* You like her!
Regina: *Blanches* Do not!
Graham: *Nods in confirmation* That explains it. That explains why you're so pissed off around her. Your emotions get amplified around those you connect with. *Pauses in contemplation* Hmmm....maybe she's the one.
Regina: *Rolls eyes* Okay, now you shut up. She is not the one.
Graham: Did you get the mark of the soulmate?
Regina: No!
Graham: *Shrugs* Well, anyway...treat her better.
Graham exits kitchen and once Regina is sure he has left, she glances on her wrist where the tattoo of a flower is drawn in black ink. This is going to be a long afterlife.
Snow spends the whole day telling Emma about Neal, his first words, first steps etc and how happy she is she can finally see it all happen. She doesn’t realise Emma is still cut up about not having a real parent to see all of that. Regina finds her crying and looks after her.
“Mom?” Emma used her spare key to unlock the door to her parent’s apartment and immediately collided with Neal as he ran into her legs. “Hey there little man. Where’s Mom?” Emma asked, bending down to pick up her brother and swinging him onto her hip.
“Emma? Is that you?” Mary Margaret appeared at the top of the stairs and smiled upon seeing her children.
“Dad said I could take the afternoon off and Regina’s still working so I thought I could come and spend some time with you and the little man.” Emma smiled bouncing her brother on her hip as he giggled.
“I’m not little.” Neal pouted making Emma and Mary Margaret grin.
“You’re not as little as you once were baby but you’ve still got some growing to do.” Mary Margaret cooed ruffling her son’s hair, looking back up at Emma she continued, “Do you want some cocoa? Then we can have a catch up, we haven’t had time alone for ages.”
Emma nodded at her Mom and deposited Neal back on the floor, watching him run off to his toy chest in the corner. “He really has grown so much. I remember when he was born, Dad and I went to get him back from Zelena.”
“That was nearly two years ago, so much has happened since then.” Mary Margaret sighed as she poured some milk into a saucepan and pulled a couple of mugs out of the cupboard. “Have I told you about when he started crawling?” Emma shook her head and Mary Margaret continued. “Well your father and I had been having a bit of an argument, I can’t remember what about, but he stormed upstairs and when I turned to look back at Neal he wasn’t where I’d left him. I freaked out and was starting to cry when I heard giggling from underneath the dining table. He had crawled from his toy chest over to the dining table and was sat playing with his teddy. David and I were so happy we completely forgot what we were fighting about.”
Mary Margaret filled the two mugs with cocoa and added whipped cream and cinnamon before handing one to Emma.
“He is a little rascal.” Emma smiled. “When I’ve babysat him before he was always crawling around giggling relentlessly. And then of course he started walking and he’s never where you leave him anymore.”
“Oh that’s a cute story.” Mary Margaret chuckled to herself as she moved to sit at the dining table, facing her son. “We were at ‘Mommy and Me’ and I was chatting to Aurora, explaining how the TV worked for the 10th time and Neal just walked up to me and hugged my leg. Clinging on so he didn’t fall over.”
Emma’s smile was fading slowly until Neal chose this moment to walk over and climb up on his sister’s lap. “Emma read this.”
“Say ‘please’ Neal honey.” Mary Margaret chastised.
“Pwease” Neal responded, handing over the book.
“We’re still working on words.” Mary Margaret smiled shaking her head. “David tells the first word story better, but your first word was ‘dadda’ wasn’t it honey?”
Neal looked around for his father. Confused when he couldn’t see him, Neal turned to face his mother, “Dadda?”
“No sweetie Daddy isn’t home yet. Why don’t you go and get the present that Daddy brought you last week?”
Neal beamed, bounced off Emma’s lap and ran over to the couch where he picked up a sweater and brought it over to show his sister. Emma picked it up and held it up so she could see what it said.
‘I am going to be a big brother’
Emma gasped and looked up at Mary Margaret who beamed and nodded.
“I uh, I have to go, congrats Mom.” Emma muttered, wiping away a stray tear as she ran out the door, leaving a befuddled Mary Margaret behind with an oblivious Neal on the floor.
Regina walked into the living room and immediately her eyes were drawn to her girlfriend, sat on the couch, cheeks stained with tears as she hugged her knees to her chest. “Emma? Emma dear what’s wrong?” Regina sat down next to Emma, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Your mom said you were a little upset when you left, but I can see that you’re more than ‘a little’ upset. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Emma shook her head unconvincingly and buried her face in Regina’s shoulder as a fresh wave of tears overcame her.
“Mom is going to have another baby.” Emma sniffed as she lifted her head up. “I just wanted to spend some time with my mom this afternoon but she started talking about Neal’s first words and his first steps and…”Emma started crying again and Regina pulled her head back down to her chest and rocked her soothingly. “I started thinking again about how I never had a mother or father who would get all sentimental over my first word, my first steps and whenever I lost a tooth. I had no one growing up, and now that I found them, they don’t seem to care. To me it just seems like I’m replaceable.”
“Oh Emma, look at me.” Emma looked up at Regina and let her wipe the tears from her cheeks “You are not replaceable. Your parents love you with all their heart and I know they regret sending you through that wardrobe and missing seeing you grow up. But your mom always wanted a big family, she used to ask me if she could have a baby brother or sister. They are not trying to replace you. I don’t think Mary Margaret realised she would be upsetting you, you know she has no tact.” Emma snorted, her tears dried. “There’s the Emma I know.” Regina beamed as Emma smiled softly “Do you want me to talk to your mom about this?”
“I think I should do it myself, but I’d like you there.”
“Of course my dear.” Regina smiled, kissing Emma’s forehead before standing up and pulling Emma with her “Let’s do it now, if you leave it any longer it’ll just get worse.”
“Why are you always right?” Emma smiled.
“Haha practice my dear.”
Regina knocked on Mary Margaret’s door with one hand, the other locked in Emma’s grip.
Mary Margaret opened the door “Regina? Did you find- Emma!”
Emma smiled meekly and followed Regina into her mother’s apartment.
“Emma I am so sorry if I upset you earlier. Please tell me what’s wrong.” Mary Margaret pleaded as Regina and Emma sat at the dining table.
Emma looked at Regina who gave an encouraging nod and smile.
Emma took a deep breath and looked up at her mother, “This afternoon, hearing you speak about Neal’s first words and hearing you’re going to have another baby it just… I didn’t have a mother growing up who would get sentimental over everything I did, and I missed seeing that with Henry. But seeing you like that with Neal, it just makes me feel like I don’t matter, like you don’t care about me. Like I’m replaceable.”
Mary Margaret bent down so Emma had to look down to see her face “Oh Emma. Emma no. I regret every day that I sent you through that wardrobe, that I missed you growing up. But you are not being replaced. Please believe me. I could never replace you. You are kind and generous and resilient and loyal to a fault. You are such a natural mother to both Henry and Neal and your father and I love you so much. You saved us.”
Tears slowly leaked down Emma's cheeks as Mary Margaret reached up to hug her daughter tightly. “I know Mom, I know. I just…sometimes I have moments of doubt.” Emma sniffed as she tried to regain composure.
Regina smiled as she watched the pair embrace, and was touched when Emma pulled her into the hug as well. “You’re part of this too Regina. You're my family now.”
As the holidays draw closer what better way to celebrate than with a gift exchange? We over at @sqslack invite you to join our first ever Secret Swanta! The clue is in the title! It’s a Secret Santa dedicated to lovely Swan Queen shippers.
I’m afraid there are a few little rules if you want to take part in this (but they’re good rules I promise)
First things first, as this is a SQSlack event you must be part of our little community to participate, you may leave as soon as you receive your gift if that is your wish but I’m sure you’ll want to stay! (see this post here on how to join)
You will need to respect the timetable! very rare exceptions may be made if you absolutely need them (if things are out of your control for example but you must tell me before any deadline)
Nov 10 - Nov 23 Submit your wishlists
Nov 24 - Nov 30 Receive your matches
Dec 01 - Dec 20 Prepare your gifts
Dec 21 - Dec 22 Submit your gifts
Gifts will be submitted to the SQSlack email address ([email protected]) and posted to the SQSlack tumblr page on Christmas Day and tagged with the handle you use on slack
There is absolutely no limit to what you can create! Go mad!! (well not literally please I don’t need that on my conscience) Fics/Ficlets, Fanart of any kind, videos, literally any thing you can think of (as long as it fits your giftee’s wish list but more on that later)
There is a wonderful wishlist that you can fill out here If there is any particular type of gift you want to receive/make then here is the place to write it (any further inquiries should be directed to me and I shall ask your giftee on your behalf)
You will receive matches via the slack forum but if you have any questions whatsoever feel free to message myself on here or message @sqslack and it’ll work its way to me
Just because this is for Swan Queen Shippers doesnt mean if you’re a multishipper you cant take part (I’m a multishipper), but for obvious reasons you need to be accepting of Swan Queen
As the holidays draw closer what better way to celebrate than with a gift exchange? We over at @sqslack invite you to join our first ever Secret Swanta! The clue is in the title! It’s a Secret Santa dedicated to lovely Swan Queen shippers.
I’m afraid there are a few little rules if you want to take part in this (but they’re good rules I promise)
First things first, as this is a SQSlack event you must be part of our little community to participate, you may leave as soon as you receive your gift if that is your wish but I’m sure you’ll want to stay! (see this post here on how to join)
You will need to respect the timetable! very rare exceptions may be made if you absolutely need them (if things are out of your control for example but you must tell me before any deadline)
Nov 10 - Nov 23 Submit your wishlists
Nov 24 - Nov 30 Receive your matches
Dec 01 - Dec 20 Prepare your gifts
Dec 21 - Dec 22 Submit your gifts
Gifts will be submitted to the SQSlack email address ([email protected]) and posted to the SQSlack tumblr page on Christmas Day and tagged with the handle you use on slack
There is absolutely no limit to what you can create! Go mad!! (well not literally please I don’t need that on my conscience) Fics/Ficlets, Fanart of any kind, videos, literally any thing you can think of (as long as it fits your giftee’s wish list but more on that later)
There is a wonderful wishlist that you can fill out here If there is any particular type of gift you want to receive/make then here is the place to write it (any further inquiries should be directed to me and I shall ask your giftee on your behalf)
You will receive matches via the slack forum but if you have any questions whatsoever feel free to message myself on here or message @sqslack and it’ll work its way to me
Just because this is for Swan Queen Shippers doesnt mean if you’re a multishipper you cant take part (I’m a multishipper), but for obvious reasons you need to be accepting of Swan Queen
Daily reminder to join the Secret Swanta Gift Exchange over at the Swan Queen # Slack Community. It’s going to be great, come on join us! =) [more info]
As the holidays draw closer what better way to celebrate than with a gift exchange? We over at @sqslack invite you to join our first ever Secret Swanta! The clue is in the title! It’s a Secret Santa dedicated to lovely Swan Queen shippers.
I’m afraid there are a few little rules if you want to take part in this (but they’re good rules I promise)
First things first, as this is a SQSlack event you must be part of our little community to participate, you may leave as soon as you receive your gift if that is your wish but I’m sure you’ll want to stay! (see this post here on how to join)
You will need to respect the timetable! very rare exceptions may be made if you absolutely need them (if things are out of your control for example but you must tell me before any deadline)
Nov 10 - Nov 23 Submit your wishlists
Nov 24 - Nov 30 Receive your matches
Dec 01 - Dec 20 Prepare your gifts
Dec 21 - Dec 22 Submit your gifts
Gifts will be submitted to the SQSlack email address ([email protected]) and posted to the SQSlack tumblr page on Christmas Day and tagged with the handle you use on slack
There is absolutely no limit to what you can create! Go mad!! (well not literally please I don’t need that on my conscience) Fics/Ficlets, Fanart of any kind, videos, literally any thing you can think of (as long as it fits your giftee’s wish list but more on that later)
There is a wonderful wishlist that you can fill out here If there is any particular type of gift you want to receive/make then here is the place to write it (any further inquiries should be directed to me and I shall ask your giftee on your behalf)
You will receive matches via the slack forum but if you have any questions whatsoever feel free to message myself on here or message @sqslack and it’ll work its way to me
Just because this is for Swan Queen Shippers doesnt mean if you’re a multishipper you cant take part (I’m a multishipper), but for obvious reasons you need to be accepting of Swan Queen
Daily reminder to join the Secret Swanta Gift Exchange over at the Swan Queen # Slack Community. It’s going to be great, come on join us! =) [more info]
I know we're all a bit uncertain about tonight's double episode of Once Upon a Time... How about joining us at the Swan Queen Community # Slack to discuss, get excited, get bummed, vent, squeal (and everything in between) about the new ep with other Swens? =)
We've also launched our Secret Swanta Gift Exchange and would love to have you on board!
How to join:
You only need to provide an email address (that will be public for the members of the community) to one of the admins so we can send you the invite. Contact us via tumblr ask or message [ @fairytalefix | @thegardensofthemoon | @red-musings | @sqslack ] or twitter.
[important note: sending an email address via ‘tumblr ask’ can result in the message not being sent at all; please use the following format → yourname and gmail and com]
edit: @fairytalefix is currently unavailable so any messages/questions/etc. should be sent to any of the other admins. Get soon better @fairytalefix! Sending good vibes your way!
As the holidays draw closer what better way to celebrate than with a gift exchange? We over at @sqslack invite you to join our first ever Secret Swanta! The clue is in the title! It’s a Secret Santa dedicated to lovely Swan Queen shippers.
I’m afraid there are a few little rules if you want to take part in this (but they’re good rules I promise)
First things first, as this is a SQSlack event you must be part of our little community to participate, you may leave as soon as you receive your gift if that is your wish but I’m sure you’ll want to stay! (see this post here on how to join)
You will need to respect the timetable! very rare exceptions may be made if you absolutely need them (if things are out of your control for example but you must tell me before any deadline)
Nov 10 - Nov 23 Submit your wishlists
Nov 24 - Nov 30 Receive your matches
Dec 01 - Dec 20 Prepare your gifts
Dec 21 - Dec 22 Submit your gifts
Gifts will be submitted to the SQSlack email address ([email protected]) and posted to the SQSlack tumblr page on Christmas Day and tagged with the handle you use on slack
There is absolutely no limit to what you can create! Go mad!! (well not literally please I don’t need that on my conscience) Fics/Ficlets, Fanart of any kind, videos, literally any thing you can think of (as long as it fits your giftee’s wish list but more on that later)
There is a wonderful wishlist that you can fill out here If there is any particular type of gift you want to receive/make then here is the place to write it (any further inquiries should be directed to me and I shall ask your giftee on your behalf)
You will receive matches via the slack forum but if you have any questions whatsoever feel free to message myself on here or message @sqslack and it’ll work its way to me
Just because this is for Swan Queen Shippers doesnt mean if you’re a multishipper you cant take part (I’m a multishipper), but for obvious reasons you need to be accepting of Swan Queen
Daily reminder to join the Secret Swanta Gift Exchange over at the Swan Queen # Slack Community. It’s going to be great, come on join us! =) [more info]
