A/N: From an on-going ficlet series posted on my tumblr (strangesmallbard)
"Alright! I finished the crown. Fit for a Queen!" Emma says. She staples the crown together; the garment made of construction paper, glitter, and craft jewels provided by Mary Margaret. She places it on Regina's head, and tries to flatten her short curly hair so the crown settles comfortably on top. It mostly works, although a larger amount of hair on side of her head causes the crown to sit a bit lopsided.
Meanwhile Regina has been frowning the entire time. It's not one of her sad frowns, those make Emma's heart hurt and her tummy do strange turns. It's not one of her angry frowns, which make Emma giggle and pull her hair and run away; only to hear her squeal of anger and the sound of steps running after her. It's a very curious frown, and Emma playfully pulls on a lock of hair. This of course, causes a very brief angry frown.
Regina crosses her thin arms and looks down for a moment, her brows furrowed together in a way that makes Emma think she's done something wrong. She considers the crown for a moment. Maybe one of the jewels is crooked. After all, Emma hasn't been crafting for a very long time. Her last home didn't really have craft materials. They sometimes had cardboard boxes, which Emma used to hide in when the adults were fighting.
She's glad she doesn't have to do that anymore. Mary-Margaret gives Emma an actual bed, and brushes her hair, and reads her bedtime stories. It's almost like having parents; like the kids do in those tv-movies. She won't admit it's really wonderful, because tomorrow she could be gone. Off in another car to another life, hoping it's the one she keeps.
Regina reaches up to touch her crown, and that's when Emma remembers her final piece. She reaches behind her to grab the remains of cardboard used in a papertowl roll, now transformed into a beautiful scepter. She places it in Regina's hand, who holds in carefully. Like she may break it, or she doesn't really know what to do with it.
"What's this for?" Regina asks.
"Magic, duh. You're a sorceress queen!" Emma says with a grin. She thought that was really cool. Much better than the fairy princess Regina wanted to be yesterday.
Regina frowns even harder than possible. "No." She says firmly and puts the scepter back in Emma's hands before sitting on the ground and crossing her arms.
Emma groans and plops down next to her .
"Why not?" She retorts and puts the scepter back in Regina's lap. Regina pushes it off and wraps her arms around her knees.
"I don't want to be a magical queen." Regina mumbles into her knees.
There's something about the sadness that overcomes Regina's features that stops Emma from bothering her more. Sometimes Regina gets that look, like the world is ending. It scares Emma, because it reminds her of how she felt when her last family gave her away. She guesses it's because of Regina's mom again. Regina's mom sounds scary, like Emma's foster mother two times ago, even if Regina says she loves her and it's okay. Someone you don't want to talk back to. And it would be awful if that foster mother was her actual mother. She was only there for two months before someone noticed bruises and got her sent back. (Although her last one gave her bruises too and no one really noticed.)
She puts a hand on Regina's hand and waits for the smaller fist unfurl and wrap around her hands.
"Okay." She breathes. "You don't got to be. You can be another kind of Queen." She says with a watery smile.
Regina lifts her head and looks so very sad. "Mama says I'm to be Queen. But I don't know if I want to be. But Mama would be very mad if I said I didn't want to be." She says quietly and looks at the discarded scepter.
Emma feels that turning in her stomach again. She doesn't really know what that means, she didn't think Queens really existed anymore, but she shifts closer and puts and arm around Regina's shoulder, like she's seen Mary-Margaret do.
"You don't gotta be Queen if you don't want to be Queen, Regina. And this is make believe. You can be anything." There's silence for a little while. The birds chirp all around them, and the sun is pleasantly warm on Emma's back. She doesn't think she's been in a place so pretty. There wasn't much nature in her other homes, much less nature she could explore all she wanted. Regina still has her head on her knees for a little, her face turned to the side, and staring at the world ahead of her. Emma squeezes her shoulders again in comfort. Her serious expression slowly lifts as she takes in Emma's words, and as she finally lifts her head and faces Emma, a small smile overcomes her features, slowly blooming into a full one.
When Regina smiles, the turning in Emma's stomach becomes more pleasant. The world seems to get a little brighter, and every sharp angle on Regina's face melts into softness. Including her eyes, which turn from a chocolate color to a caramel color, and sparkle. She looks so very pretty, and Emma almost has to look away to blush.
"I want to be me!" She announces, and takes off her crown, settling it gently on the grass.
Emma laughs, not even caring about the discarded crown she worked on in favor of Regina's pretty smile. "Okay! And I'll be me too. We'll be us. Not the fairy princess and the elf, or the sorceress queen and the knight."
Regina jumps up, and brushes grassy remains off her capris. She then wilts a little, tilting her head from side to side.
"How do you play make believe without playing make believe?" She asks. Emma gets up and shrugs, pushing grass off her pants as well.
"I dunno. Maybe we could just play tag?" Before she can come up with another idea, Regina grins cheekily and taps Emma on the arm.
"You're it!" She yells as she takes a head start, the bounce of brown curls the last thing Emma sees as she dashes between the trees.
"You dumby head!" She calls after her friend. "That was mean!"
There's a cackle from somewhere up ahead, and Emma darts forward to chase it, her blonde ringlets catching the wind behind her. She feels so very free.